The Ivy Wall
by AshRB
Summary: The entire Harvest Moon world is in danger. Change is frightening, but necessary. Cute/AP/MFoMT/MM/ToT/SNES/ANB.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note: Hey, everyone! AshRB here! I have been working on this story since June 2012 and I figured that I should probably get around to actually posting it on the site. **_**The Ivy Wall **_**was born out of my disappointment in the lack of sci-fi HM fics, so I figured, "If anyone should write one, it might as well be me."**

**I want to thank my awesome beta Sweetielove! Thanks!**

**Fun fact: I'm posting this on September 8****th****, 2014, which is the same night as a super Harvest Moon! I did that on purpose. Ain't I punderfull? **

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons**_**.**

Chapter 1

The fate of the world was decided in a dark room.

Five beings sat surrounding a large, round pool of water. This pool was one of many in the room. Each pool had a purpose, some being for the use of teleportation, others being for the use of spying, while others kept track of things otherwise easily lost. The pool in question was the most important as its waters fed all the others and helped the ones who sat around it hold counsel.

The five beings glanced at each other and at one of the two empty chairs at the end of the pool. That chair brought out different reactions from within each of them. But they had to leave their thoughts about the former occupant of the chair in their minds at the moment. They had been summoned to this most sacred place for a reason.

"Hello, my children," a sixth being entered the room. He appeared to be an old man with brilliant blue light bursting forth from him and shining off of his distinctly bald head. He walked to the pool where the others sat and stood before them, looking each of them in the eye before taking his place at one of the empty chairs.

"Hello, father," a man with a red aura greeted him, bowing his head with respect as he did so.

"Greetings to you as well, my son, and to you, too, my daughters," the man with the blue aura said in reply. "I wish we were meeting for a happier reason."

"Yeah, why are we here exactly?" said a female with no aura, but who commanded powers so dark; she would have considered it an insult to have light shining from her anyway.

After giving the girl a look of contempt, the old man waved his hand above the pool. An image of a television screen began to appear. Twelve eyes watched as a disturbing commercial took stage upon the dusty glass screen. Five beings anxiously waited with bated breath as a television announcer began to speak.

_"Does work stress you out? Is there never enough time in the day to do what you want to do?"_

The television set depicted a worn out office worker and a collapsed farmer. Each had an exaggerated amount of fatigue painted on their faces. Worry lines had never been that shade of purple.

_"Worry no more! I'm proud to introduce Future Tech's newest invention, Hubots!"_

The tired faces of the overworked humans were replaced by an image the six in the room had hoped to never see again.

"No," gasped a being with long violet hair and a matching aura, "It can't be…Not him. Anything but him…"

The screenshot that scared the beings portrayed a man… or what at least appeared to be a man. The "man" wore blue denim overalls, a backwards baseball cap, and had a red bandana tied around his neck. His brown bangs popped out from underneath his cap and defied gravity as they floated above his face.

Upon closer inspection, however, it was easy to see that he was not a mere human. There were lines ending in circular nodes centered on his forehead, cheeks, and arms. His elbows were not held together by a natural flesh joint, but by visible screws. His hair was made up of tiny silicon wires and, as realistic as his skin looked, it was nothing more than flesh colored plastic. The biggest giveaway, however, was his soulless eyes. The eyes were made up of three constantly spinning brown circles with silvery-blue rectangular-shaped plates hovering atop them. The black pupil resembled a camera lens much more than a human eye. There was nothing to indicate that there was anything behind those eyes other than a backlight.

"Not only does it look like him," remarked the male who glowed red, "It's a robot. The humans' technology has progressed too far…"

_"Hubots are the perfect workers!" the commercial continued, "They can perform any task, no matter how menial, difficult, or dangerous! You'll never have to work again."_

The screen now showed the office worker and farmer lounging on a sunny beach while the hubots did their respective jobs.

_"So what are you waiting for? Order your own Hubot for only 500,000G!"_

With another wave of his glowing hand, the leader of the beings cleared away the image from the water. Their stunned faces now reflected back up at them.

"So, the time has come again, hasn't it?" whispered the violet one.

"I'm afraid so, my daughter," the eldest answered.

"Finally!" said the female with no aura, "I was getting so bored of this world!"

"Time to start fresh!" agreed a being with matching aqua hair and aura.

"It's such a pity. The last few generations of farmers have been the best we've ever had," a being with a green aura sighed. The others could not see how she clenched her fist.

They all nodded in agreement.

"Yes, the Harvester family has been quite successful, but their time has come to an end," the bald one began, "We cannot allow technology to evolve any farther. It is our sacred duty as Kings and Goddesses to protect this planet. We must begin the search for this world's Ivy Wall immediately. Gather the sprites.

"It's time to create a new world."

**Authors Note: Review if you feel the urge to!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hey, everyone! I'm not going to do this very often, but I've decided to release two chapters this week. (I actually have about twenty chapters written already and my plan is to post one a week.) I couldn't decide which chapter should go first, as they are both introduction chapters for main characters and take place on the same day, and it seemed kinda wonky to spread that over two weeks.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed and to all my silent readers who didn't. You all rock!**

Chapter 2

Pony had no idea that the world would soon end. For her, it was just another Sunday.

It was an early spring morning and the sun was only just beginning to rise. Most of the residents of Forget-Me-Not Valley were still asleep, tangled in dreams of various sorts. Pony, however, was wide awake. Getting up early was nothing for her. It was a job requirement, as a matter of fact. She was Pony Harvester: Rancher Extraordinaire!

Pony had one person to thank for her farming success and she was in the process of visiting him that morning.

The early morning air was quite cold. Pony shivered as she wrapped her jacket tighter around her. There was the slightest bit of frost dusting the grass indicating that winter had not completely left the valley yet. Her stomach grumbled and she took a small breakfast of rice balls out of her rucksack. She ate as she walked on the worn path towards her destination. Her mouth chewed in rhythm with her feet, allowing her mind to contemplate such order. Her mind rambled off a list of things that she had to accomplish that day. She smiled and reveled in the fact that her life was a busy one. She wouldn't have it any other way.

Pony's feet slowly came to a stop as she finally reached her goal. She knelt in front of the gravestone and ran her fingers across the carved letters. Her mind read along as she did so.

_The great farm king "Mark" rests here._

"Hey, Great Grandpa," Pony said as she rested her bottom upon the grass, not caring that the ground was wet with frost, "How was your week?"

Pony was answered with silence.

"I wanted to thank you again for blessing the family with the farm. I know that it was your father that purchased it, but it was you that made it great."

The sun rose a bit higher into the sky, lighting the horizon with shades of orange.

"And, of course, Takakura's descendant still thinks that he owns part of it, even though he doesn't do any of the work. Silly, right?" Pony chuckled before continuing, "The ranch has finally returned to its former glory after being neglected for so long.

"I did an amazing job of it, if I do say so myself! I have so much money I have no idea what to do with it. You have to admit, two million worth of gold is pretty impressive!"

The brunette took out one of the gold coins in question and flicked it into the air. She caught it and observed what it landed on.

"Hm, heads. Anyway, I love farming so much. I love being so busy and always having something to do and accomplish."

Pony closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. The early spring air was so rejuvenating.

"Last I heard, Molly's and Tina's farms were doing fine as well. Claire just bought the farm in the next town over. Apparently somebody can only take so much deskwork until they snap! I think Mark was going to try his hand at ranching too. Let's hope he lives up to your name!"

The sun had risen even higher. Pony got up and stretched. It was time for her to head home and get to work.

"Well, it was good talking to you Great Grandpa. See you next Sunday."

Pony took out another rice ball and began to eat it as she jogged home. She had so much to do and not much time to do it with; which was awesome! She took joy in hard work and time crunches. Being alive didn't mean a thing if you didn't make the most of the time you were given, after all. She was always trying to find a way to grow just a few more crops, to make just a bit more gold at the end of each season. She loved breaking her records and coming up with new, more difficult, and harder to reach goals.

The twenty-four harvest sprites of the blue and green teams were waiting for her to arrive. The tiny beings were all stretching and yawning as the farmer jogged into her farmland. She knew that she wasn't technically allowed to hire more than one team to help her work, but since she saved all a hundred and one of their little behinds, she figured that she was entitled to a little more help.

"Hey, y'all!" Pony greeted with a chipper smile.

The sprites let out a resounding grown.

"We have a lot to do today," she began, "So we better get started! As you can see, the turnips and cabbages all need harvesting today, so make sure you put all your energy into it, green team. They all need to be in the shipping bin by five, remember? You need to work double time anyway because the watering team can't water those patches until I plant new seeds there. Watering team, water everything you can in the meantime. I'll either be in the animal sheds or my basements if you need me."

With that, Pony headed towards her chicken coops. She had four poultry barns containing a total of twelve chickens and four ducks. Two of her chickens were prize winners and so was one of her ducks. After collecting the eggs, she then headed towards her three livestock barns to brush and milk her six cows and shear her six sheep. This task always took up most of her day and she had to eat lunch right in the middle of it. After taking care of her animals, Pony headed to her maker shed to convert the eggs into mayonnaise, the milk into cheese, and wool into yarn.

The sun was already on the western half of the sky by the time Pony emerged from the barn. The harvesting team was still busy picking cabbages while the watering team napped by the orchard.

"Better pick up the pace, guys!" Pony called to the green team, "It's already three o'clock!"

"Slave driver," one of the sprites muttered.

"Hey, don't bite the hand that gives you casino tokens!" Pony laughed as she entered her house.

She stopped to put a few eggs she saved in her refrigerator before heading down to the lowest depths of her basement. She had three basements and each grew crops from different seasons. At the highest level she grew spring crops. Summer was the next level down and autumn was right under that. Some people might have thought it redundant to grow crops in your basement that you could also grow outside, but not to Pony! To her, it was just one more way to ramp up production.

Pony was in the middle of watering her yams when the basement door opened and a dark silhouette appeared in its frame.

"Gee, Pony, three basements?! You've gone from being a 'little horse' to a mole!" the shadowy figure chuckled.

"Rock, how did you get in my house?" Pony groaned.

Rock quickly descended the basement steps and his features became discernible the closer he walked to Pony's lamp. His blond hair was slightly tussled and his eyes and cheeks were bright with laughter.

"You left your door open," he answered.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that you can just come right in!"

"Well, I did knock…"

"And when you didn't hear any reply you should have just continued on your merry little way!"

"But what if you were hurt or something? It wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me to just leave a lady in distress."

"Rock, 'gentlemanly' would be the _last_ word anybody would use to describe you."

"Yeah, because my untamable hotness would cause them to die of happiness right then and there!"

Pony groaned.

"I need to call pest control services," she muttered.

"What? You have mice in your house?!" Rock looked around for invisible rodents.

Pony rolled her eyes and went back to watering her plants. "What do you want?"

Rock watched as the little droplets of water fell from the watering can and onto the sprouts. "It's been a long time since we hung out, Pony. You never seem to leave your farmland anymore. So, I was wondering, if you were free later, maybe we could…"

"No."

"But, I didn't even finish…"

"The answer is 'no,' Rock."

"It's not like I'm asking you on a date or anything! You know I have a thing for Lumina. I just want to hang out with my best friend. Is that really too much to ask?"

"Coming from a no-good, lazy freeloader? Yes."

Rock looked hurt as he took a seat on the basement steps. He buried his head in his hands. "Pony, what's happened to you? You used to be a free spirit. Heck, you were also once a 'no-good, lazy freeloader' as you so delicately put it."

"And the Harvest Goddess had to pay dearly for my sloth."

"But she's okay now, isn't she? I'm sure that she doesn't want you to spend every waking moment watering plants!" Rock stood up and walked over to where the farmer stood. He jerked the watering can out of her hands. "The Harvest Goddess wants you have a life too."

"Farming is my life." Pony scowled as she wrenched the can back. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to have all my crops in the shipping bin by five."

Rock shook his head disappointedly and climbed up the basement steps. He grabbed the door handle and turned it before facing the farmer once again.

"You know, all work and no play makes Jill a dull girl," he said with narrowed eyes before finally exiting the room.

Pony snarled and listened as Rock's feet stomped on the floor above her. She heard her front door slam before returning to her precious strawberries. They were growing very nicely and would be ready to harvest soon. The turnips needed a little work. Maybe a bit more fertilizer…

The farmer winced as a tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away with her fore finger and stared at it. Where had it come from? She was Pony Harvester: Rancher Extraordinaire! She was strong, rich, and disciplined! She had no reason to cry. Surely that freeloader's words hadn't affected her that much?

No. The tear was just a fluke; a wary reminder of the pathetic person she used to be. The person who had nearly killed a goddess with laziness. The person Pony vowed to never be again. And in order to not become that poor excuse for a human again she had to get back to work!

Once all the plants in the basement had been watered, Pony harvested the grown ones and headed back outside. All twenty-four sprites lay collapsed on the ground and exhaled with heavily labored breathes. They had completed their work just in time. Mayor Thomas was walking toward the farmland as the young rancher finished shipping her basement crops.

"Hello there, Pony!" the man in the red top hat called out to the exhausted farmer girl.

"Hey, Thomas," Pony waved back.

Thomas smiled and walked towards the shipping box. He groaned when he saw how full it was.

"Pony, I'm glad that you're stimulating the economy and all, but my back can't take much more of this! These vegetables are so heavy and I'm not exactly as robust as I used to be."

"So hire somebody to help you," Pony crossed her arms.

"Ugh, do you know what Mineral Town's budget is right now? Until that no good cousin of yours actually starts farming, I can't afford a new toilet seat, let alone pay for another shipper!" Thomas buried his head in his hands when suddenly he got an idea. "Unless of course, I didn't have to pay them…"

"Well, good luck finding someone who doesn't like getting paid!"

"No! I'm talking about that new invention by Future Tech! Hubots, I think they're called. They're like mechanical people that never get tired!"

"Something like that sounds extremely expensive. I thought you just said that you couldn't even afford a toilet seat?"

But Thomas did not hear her. He was thinking of the possibilities of the hubot as he gathered up the vegetables.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'll do! Thanks for the idea, Pony!" The now giddy mayor said as he skipped away from the farm with the load of produce upon his back, not flinching under its weight at all.

With a shrug, Pony turned towards her fields and sowed more seeds before awaking the watering team so they could finish their work. The task was soon completed.

"Same time tomorrow!" she told the tired sprites.

Pony began heading towards the Goddess Spring. She had one more thing to do before the day was done.

The spring was devoid of humans when she arrived, which suited Pony just fine. She didn't feel like chatting with mere mortals at the moment. The farmer tossed a basket of strawberries into the shimmering waters and knelt on the ground to pray. The Harvest Goddess appeared in a flash of sparkle and light. Pony continued to kneel in reverence to the glowing green deity in front of her.

"Dum-da-da-DAA!" the goddess exclaimed, "Hello there, Pony. Why did you summon me this fine night?"

Pony kept her face towards the ground. She was not worthy to look upon such a being. "I just wanted to apologize once again for my folly that led to your near destruction, milady, and to again thank you for blessing my family with fertile fields and bountiful harvests."

"Your sloth has been forgiven and it's my pleasure to keep your fields green," the goddess stopped smiling and her voice dropped an octave as she said the next part, "All I ask is that you spend what's left of your life in happiness…"

Pony didn't notice the goddess's change in attitude. "You are too kind, milady."

"By the way, your offering was perfect. Good night, young Harvester." With that, the being shimmered away.

Smiling, Pony stood up and headed towards home. Tomorrow was sure to be just as wonderfully busy and she couldn't wait to get started.

She was not at all prepared for what was about to happen


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Gale was surrounded by an inky blackness.

Maybe inky wasn't quite the right word. The darkness wasn't slippery or blotty. It was smooth and cold. One could almost say that it was metallic, in a weird sense of the word. And it felt of electricity. Like an unnatural storm was swirling through the shadows. Gale felt as if he were trapped inside of a box. Its walls pulsed with sparks of energy like blood swimming through veins.

Just beyond his vision he could see blinks of green light. His peripheral vision could make out the shapes of ones and zeroes from the faint illumination, but nothing else. They were nothing but nonsensical numbers. Gale ran his fingers across the wall and was overtaken by a jolt of electricity shooting across his body.

There was no rhyme or reason to this place…or was there? As unnatural as the place was, it seemed like it had a purpose. What that purpose was, however, well…that was hard to say. Gale had to discover its function. He had to…

"Dada! Dada!" A small hand grasped his foot and the wizard opened his eyes.

There, at the foot of his bed, stood his youngest daughter, Chrystal, hugging her teddy bear with one hand and his right foot with the other. The room and numbers had been a dream.

Or a vision. As a wizard, he couldn't rule out the possibility.

There were tears in Chrystal's eyes. "Dada! Stella's missing!" she cried.

Gale jolted upright, remembering what day it was. His eldest, Stella, was to leave with the goddess tree sapling and Finn to travel to some far off island in order to restore its power of nature. His chest began to pulsate with pain and worry as the knowledge that he would soon lose one of his children started to come back in full force.

His wife, Molly, got up as well and glanced around. "Finn is gone too, "she observed, "You don't think that they left for the spring already?!"

The pair jumped out of their bed immediately and ran towards their front door, stopping only to pick up Chrystal. They stepped out into the early spring air and took a hurried look across the farmland. The sun was slowly rising over Harvester Ranch and the world was still awakening. Moos could be heard from the barn as the cows expected their breakfast. The poultry was already waddling out of the chicken coop in order to find early morning bugs. The fields were full of crops waiting to be watered and harvested. There was no sign of Gale and Molly's eldest anywhere.

With a glance at each other, the couple hurried towards the Goddess Spring. Gale held onto to Chrystal tighter as he sprinted. She held on for dear life and buried both her and her teddy bear's head into his chest.

How could that day have come so fast? How could Stella have grown so quickly? How could she be sent away so soon? She was still just a child. Gale knew the sapling had to be delivered by someone "pure of heart," but why did it have to be his daughter? He had so few people in this planet that mattered to him and his time with them was already limited! Pain erupted throughout his body once more as the thought of his family's mortality and his immortality invaded his thoughts.

An immortal life was usually a lonely one. Gale knew of only one other wizard: Some thief who went by the pseudonym 'Skye' and who used his powers for ill. There was also that intolerable witch, Vivi, who lived in the nearby Fugue Forest. Lastly, there were the Harvest Deities who wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, except for the Witch Princess. She had actually taught him basic magic and helped him through the primordial years of his childhood. Gale had to flee from her when he learned that she used her powers for darkness.

Gale and Molly quickly arrived at the spring. Before they could enter, however, Chrystal wiggled out of Gale's arms and jumped to the ground. She carefully placed her teddy bear on a large rock and took hold of her father's hand.

"Da-chan doesn't want to go in there," she explained.

All Gale and Molly could do was shrug and continue into the spring. The Harvest King and the Harvest Goddess of Castanet stood in front of the fully grown goddess tree and the Harvest Sprites stood at their feet. The deities gave Molly a kind, if not solemn, look of understanding as her eyes picked her eldest daughter out of the crowd. They gave Gale a look of contempt, however, and he knew that, like always, he was not welcome in their presence, even if it were to say good bye to his child. Finn, the sprite who had been Molly's personal guide and friend for many years, was busy telling the other sprites about how excited he was to finally have gained full Harvest Sprite status. A few of the other townspeople had also come to bid Stella farewell, too, unaware that they were in the presence of the deities or the sprites. For the deities only made themselves known when they wanted to be and it took a rare human to see a sprite. Candace, the seamstress, held a handkerchief close to her eyes and the young Chloe was busy embracing Stella in a tight hug. Stella hugged her back until she looked up to see the sad eyes of her parents gazing down at her.

"Mama! Papa!" She let go of Chloe to hug them, "You're late. Where were you?"

"Stella, why are you leaving?" Chrystal asked her big sister.

Stella hugged her too, "Finn and I have an important job to do, kiddo. There is an island far away from here that needs a goddess tree seedling to make it healthy again. We're going to deliver that seedling and come right back. Until then, you need to take good care of mama and papa for me, okay?"

"Okay!"

Gale tried to smile. He wanted to leave his daughter with a happy vision of him if anything were to go wrong. The edges of his mouth twitched and he hoped that his expression didn't look too fake.

He knelt before Stella and placed his hand upon her shoulder, "Stella…If you ever get lonely, just look up…We all live under the same sky…" He leaned in to whisper into her ear, "And remember…Never tell your true name to strangers... There is a chance that, as my child, you could be a witch…"

"And mortals can control witches and wizards by saying their names," she whispered back, "You've told me a hundred times, Papa! I don't think you need to worry. I haven't shown any magical ability at all. But…I promise I'll be careful."

"Good," Gale kissed his daughter's forehead and stood up.

Molly knelt down next. She brushed away tears with one hand and placed a lock of Stella's hair behind the girl's ear with the other.

"My darling girl," she hiccupped, "I'm so proud of you! I know that you'll bring more pride to the Harvester name."

"Of course, Mama!"

The bubbly mayor, Hamilton, held up a camera, "How 'bout we take a picture to commemorate this day? Line up, everybody!"

The townspeople squeezed together and smiled. Gale's family was front and center. The camera could not capture the understandable worry he and Molly felt for Stella, however.

Finn flew over and hugged Molly's nose, "I'm going to miss you, Molly. You're the best friend I've ever had."

"I'll miss you too, little buddy. Promise me you'll look after her, won't you?" Molly asked.

"With my life," Finn's face was dead serious.

"It's time," the Harvest Goddess beckoned to the rainbow bridge that would take Stella and Finn to the faraway isle of Waffle Island.

Stella took a deep breath and picked up the tiny goddess tree sapling. She turned to face her parents one more time, "Well, Mama…Papa…Chrystal…Please take care. See you later!"

She walked up to the rainbow with Finn leading the way. She placed a cautious foot on the transparent bridge. It was solid. She took a step and then another and another. The townspeople watched in awe, believing that it was the wizard's magic that allowed the girl to walk upon rainbows, not knowing that it was Finn's power as a sprite that let her do so. Soon, the pair was a mere dot in the horizon and the spring was empty save for the deities and Gale's family.

"You're certain that she is one hundred percent safe?" Molly asked.

"Of course, dear Harvester," the goddess comforted Molly, "We would never allow her to come into harm."

"And it is not wise to question our powers," the Harvest King warned.

"I…understand. Milord, milady," Molly bowed to each in turn.

Chrystal held up her arms and Molly picked her up. She took Gale's hand.

"Let's go home, honey. The cows are probably wondering why I haven't fed them by now."

They went to leave. Gale turned around to get one last look at the rainbow only to receive glares from the king and goddess. He paid them no mind.

If only his powers as a wizard could have predicted what was coming.

He never would have let Stella go.

**Author's Note: Review if you feel the urge too! See y'all next week! :D **


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note: Thanks for the reviews, guys! Each one brings a smile to my face. : )**

**I hope everyone had a great summer! Fall starts tomorrow. **

Chapter 4

Most of the world would not notice the recent change that occurred during the night and the sleeping Pony was not yet aware that it had happened. The stars blinked out one by one as the sun reached its peak over the horizon. Pony stirred, her rest disturbed by her almost instinctual urge to awaken with the sun. She yawned, stretched, and rubbed her eyes before sliding her legs out of her bed and onto the floor. Her cat and dog bounded up to her in hopes that they would be given breakfast soon. She fed them and made some breakfast for herself too. Clothes were changed, tools were gathered, and rucksack was readied. Pony grabbed her door handle and smiled. Soon she and the harvest sprites would be working towards a new farming goal! She stepped outside.

There were no sprites to be found.

Puzzled, Pony walked around her property in search of the little elf-like beings. There wasn't a single one. She shrugged. Maybe they were just late? Maybe they were just hung up because of some paperwork issue at the Harvest Sprite Headquarters? One thing was certain though. Her livestock were hungry and needed to be taken care of. The sprite matter would just have to wait.

The clock soon stroke noon and Pony was almost ready to head to the maker room. She took a quick glance out at her fields first and cursed under her breath at what she saw. Still no sprites. Even though her rucksack was heavy with milk that needed to be converted into cheese, she started heading out towards the Harvest Sprites' tree.

The people of Forget Me Not Valley were astonished to see Pony come out of her farmland so early. Many of them hadn't seen her in over a year. They called out to her with friendly smiles and waves and she politely waved back. She didn't stop to chat, though. She still had hours of work that needed to be done and the sprites were supposed to be helping her do it. She continued waving to random citizens as she made her way to the tree. Eventually, she made it but the door was sealed tight. Pony groaned, but then she saw a note taped to the door.

_Pony,_

_We regret to inform you that all the Harvest Sprites have been called away on an important mission. We thank you for your continued patronage but we will be unable to assist you with your farm work for the foreseeable future. We hope that you will find happiness in the coming days._

_Guts of the Harvest Sprite Station_

Gone. The Harvest Sprites were gone and she was left to do her farming duty alone. And mission? What mission? What task could possibly need a hundred and one sprites to complete it?

Pony could ask the goddess but it would have to wait until later. There were still other people at the spring and plenty of farm work left to be done. She pulled out her watering can and high-tailed it back to her farm land. The turnips were wilting in the sun and the potatoes needed to be harvested. She sucked in a deep breath and began.

The first patch of vegetables was easy. The turnips were watered without Pony ever breaking a sweat. The cucumbers were harder and she found herself wiping the back of her brow several times and her breath became far more labored. By the time she made it to her cabbages, her vision was blurry, her feet were making her stumble at every step, and her muscles screamed at her every movement. She fell a few times and just managing to stand up again became a near impossible task. Pony's face had become a dark shade of blue when she started to water her strawberries. The world was spinning, but she had to keep going. Just one more patch. She just had to water one more…

Pony collapsed into a patch of strawberries, crushing many prize winners in the process.

The ceiling of Dr. Hardy's office stared down at Pony when she awakened.

"That was quite the fall you took, Pony," a voice said from beside her. Pony turned to look at its source.

The doctor himself stood beside her bed with a clipboard of data in his hands. Takakura stood behind him. The look on her neighbor's face couldn't have been more sullen.

"What happened?" Pony groaned.

"You worked your body to exhaustion, that's what," Hardy stared down at his papers, "All that heavy farm work over the years has finally caught up with you. You've been out for about a day now."

"Ugh, great. My animals are probably starving to death by now and my crops are totally going to be ruined!" Pony lurched out of the clinic bed and slung her rucksack onto her back, "It's going to take me forever to make up for lost time!"

"Stop right there!" Hardy blocked the clinic's door, "You are not to do any hard labor for the rest of the day or tomorrow. I am prescribing you bed rest. Your body needs time to heal and you need to be more careful in the future."

"Sorry. Not happening, Doc. If you haven't noticed, I have a business to run and I'm the only one who bothers to actually run it!" She couldn't help but glare at Takakura as she said this.

Takakura cleared his throat.

"Not anymore," he said.

"Oh, like you're actually going to step up and do your part of the work now, after I turned the farm into the most successful ranch on this side of the planet?"

Takakura narrowed his eyes, "Actually, I've ordered you some help."

"Farm hands? And how, pray tell, are you going to pay them?"

"I used your money to pay for it. Goddess knows you have enough."

"You. Did. WHAT?!" Pony dived her hand into her rucksack, fishing for her wallet. She found it and pulled out her tiny electronic tablet that recorded her funds. Her total gold amount was half a million gold. She took one look at the sum and fell back onto the clinic bed and promptly screamed into a pillow.

"I had two million worth of gold! Who in the Harvest King's name needs a million and half worth of gold as a farmhand?" she seethed.

"Murrey actually stole about a million's worth from you while you were out," Hardy explained, "That cop from Mineral Town is doing a full investigation on it."

"That no good, dirty hobo. He's worse than Rock!" As hard as that was to believe, Pony thought.

"The hubot I ordered for you was only worth half a million," Takakura crossed his arms.

"That's still a big sum of money to take from someone without asking!" Pony sighed.

"You needed the help. That farm is too big for one person to take care of alone. I told you to get a husband but you never courted any of the bachelors."

"For goddess's sake, Takakura, my social life is none of your damn business!"

"That's enough, you two!" Dr. Hardy slammed his clipboard down. He pointed at Pony, "Remember, bed rest!" Then at Takakura, "And don't you stress her out during her recovery time."

Pony stuck her tongue out at Takakura.

The two exited the clinic.

"I don't care how hard you've worked on that farm," Takakura growled, "You're still that same selfish, spoiled brat of a child you were when you first came here." He turned his back and walked away.

That comment struck Pony down to her deepest nerve. She clenched her fists and dug her fingernails down deep into her palms. It took every bit of her power to not run up to Takakura and drive his face into the ground. He was wrong! That pathetic, self-centered Pony he described was dead. She died when the Harvest Goddess almost did. The farmer took a deep breath and unclenched her fists and took a moment to look at the red welts she had created in her hands. What had happened to her gloves? Did Murrey take those too? She rolled her eyes and walked home.

A large package waited for her in the middle of her house. The box was as at least as tall as an average size male human and had the Future Tech logo emblazoned on all sides. An arrow indicated where to open the box. Pony shrugged and did so. About a thousand Styrofoam packing peanuts spilled out when the container was opened. Pony barely paid any attention though. Her eyes where set on the Hubot.

It looked so human and yet was obviously not human at the same time. Its skin was made of plastic, but it wasn't shiny and it felt almost rubbery. It didn't smell human either. A fragrance akin to new car smell wafted out of the box. The hubot wore normal clothes: overalls, a shirt, boots, gloves, and a cap. Its silicon hair was puzzling since its brunette bangs hovered above its face. How did it do that? Why did it do that? Its eyelids were closed, giving the impression that the machine was just sleeping, which was pretty eerie.

An instruction manual and a CD were sticking out of the pocket of the overalls. Pony pulled them out and sat down at her table to read the instructions. The booklet wasn't as thick as she was expecting. It was only a few pages long, which she found odd considering that hubots were supposed to be the most advanced technological thing ever. She shrugged for the second time that day and began to read.

_We at Future Tech would like to thank you for purchasing one of our state of the art Hubots! Never again will you have to lift a finger as the hubot will do all the work for you! All you have to do to get your hubot up and running is to place the enclosed CD in the slot located at the back of its head, right underneath the bill of its cap. Your hubot will awaken and you can then name it and tell its duties and it will get started right away! Hubots are solar powered and will power down each night to save battery life. What are you waiting for? Go power up your hubot today and live a life of luxury!_

It sounded easy enough. Pony grabbed the disc and stood in front of the hubot again. The way the box was opened the machine was facing toward her and she couldn't reach the CD slot. How was she going to get the CD into the back of its head? She looked at the box again and saw that there were even more arrows indicating how to open the box. Basically, she had to tear the whole thing down. She couldn't help but think that the way the container worked was a bit of a design flaw on Future Tech's part, but nothing to really grumble about. She did it anyway for good measure though.

Pony could now see the whole layout of the hubot. The back looked as human as the front, save for the tiny sliver of a CD slot hidden underneath the bill of its hat. She did as the manual instructed and slid the disc into the hubot's head.

There was a whirring sound as the computer processed the data. Pony walked around the hubot and watched as it slowly began to glow. The circular nodes centered around its body gave off a soft, warm light. The hubot made a chiming sound, much like the sound a computer would make when turned on. The farmer stopped walking and stood in front of the machine. The hubot slowly opened its eyes.

Pony jumped back. The eyes were not what she was expecting. Unlike the rest of the construct, the eyes were not human looking at all. The pupil was like a camera lens, growing and shrinking as it adjusted to the light. There were three brown retinas with what looked like silver-blue squares hovering above them. The retinas rotated in opposite directions like the gears of a clock. In a way the eyes looked science-fictiony and cool. Yet they were also just plain unsettling…

"Hello," the hubot said.

Pony jumped back again when it spoke. The voice was male, though not very deep. It had a warm quality to it and didn't at all sound mechanical, like she was expecting.

"What is your name, miss?" the hubot asked.

"It's Pony," she answered.

"It is my pleasure to meet you, Miss Pony. What would you like to call me?"

A pause. Pony had no idea what to call him. She hadn't thought about names at all. She said the first thing that came to her mind.

"Jack," she said, "Your name will be Jack."

"Confirmed. My name is Jack," he repeated, "What tasks would you like me to perform, Miss Pony?"

Pony raised an eyebrow. Although the hubot's voice didn't sound mechanical, his dialect sure was.

"Well…I'm a rancher…I guess I'll take you outside and show you what you will be doing," she scratched behind her head.

They went outside. Jack made no sounds as he walked other than the thudding of his boots and the sound of his overalls moving around. No engines or joints buzzing. Pony couldn't help but feel a little uneasy as she showed him her fields and explained the process of watering and planting. His eyes just continued to rotate as he took in the information. Explaining how to take care of the animals felt even weirder, like she was entrusting the wellbeing of her livestock to a stranger.

"And there's also the basement crops, but…I'll take care of those," Pony finished her explanation of her daily schedule. She would handle the basement. She didn't want the thing in her house more than necessary.

"Duties confirmed. I will begin my tasks right away," Jack said as he picked up a watering can and began to water the dry crops.

The sun was setting and Pony couldn't stop shivering. The hubot was creeping her out. She had to get away from it for a little while. With one last look toward her farm, she walked to the Goddess Spring. It was empty when she got there and, for once, she was kind of sad. A talk with one of her neighbors would've been a nice distraction, sans Rock and Takakura, of course. She sat by the water and stared down at her reflection.

Two worried violet eyes stared back up at Pony. She traced the lines underneath her eyes. When did those get there? The skin under her eyes was a shade of light blue. How long had it been like that? It had been a long time since she had looked at her reflection. Did she look that way because of her spill the day before or did she always look like that?

"Dum-da-da-DAA!" said the Harvest Goddess as she materialized in front of her.

Surprised, Pony jumped into her kneeling position. She hadn't thrown an offering into the pool. Why was the goddess there?

"I'm glad to see you're okay, Pony. That was quite the fall you had yesterday!"

"Milady! This is quite a surprise! For what reason do I owe this honor?" Pony said as she continued to kneel.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. I knew it was going to be hard for you to maintain such a large farm once we called the Harvest Sprites away, but I never expected you to collapse! I'm sorry we took the sprites away without notice."

"What is it that the Harvest Sprites were called away to do, if you don't mind me asking, milady?"

The Harvest goddess' smile fell away. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself.

"I'm sorry, Pony. Their mission is not for humans to know about," she answered.

"I understand, milady. You needn't worry about me fainting anymore, though. Takakura bought a hubot to help me with the farm work."

The Harvest goddess' expression changed again, from sadness to horror.

"A hubot, you say?" her voice trembled.

"Yes, milady. Although I must admit the machine makes me feel a little less than comforted. But I shouldn't burden you with my troubles."

"No, Pony, it's quite alright. I imagine what you are experiencing is the uncanny valley."

"Uncanny valley, milady?" Pony asked, confused.

"It's when something seems lifelike, but is not. It can make some people feel uncomfortable," the goddess looked away as she said the next part, "You don't need to worry about the hubots hurting you…We…we have the situation under control."

"Situation, milady?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about, Pony. It's just us deities doing our…job."

"Of, course, milady. I shouldn't have pried."

"It's okay. Just promise me something, Pony," the Harvest Goddess lifted the farmer's chin up to stare into her eyes, "Promise me that you will spend what's left of your life in happiness. Make some friends. Fall in love. Just please be happy… for my sake."

"O-of course, milady! Whatever you want!"

She released her hand from Pony's chin.

"Good. Now you should go home and rest, young Harvester. Your body still needs to heal," With that, the Harvest Goddess disappeared back into her pond.

Trembling, Pony stood up and began to walk home. It was rare to receive a visit from the Harvest Goddess without first giving her an offering. It was such an honor to have been chosen. Yet, Pony felt less than happy. Where had the sprites gone? What did the Harvest Deities have to do with the hubots? Why was the goddess so greatly concerned for her happiness all of a sudden? Pony knew that she should trust the deity's word and simply not worry about it, but she just couldn't shake her uneasiness.

An astonishing sight was waiting for her when she returned to the farm. The fields were completely watered and harvested. Crates, filled to the brim with produce, were stacked by the shipping bin, ready to be exported the next day. Jack stood by the stable as still as a stone.

"All the duties that you have asked me to do have been completed, Miss Pony," he said to the wide-eyed rancher as she came into view.

"You did everything I told you in less than an hour?" Pony gaped.

"I have been programmed to perform my duties as efficiently as possible."

"No kidding," she stared up at the starry sky, "Well, I guess that you can go power down or whatever in the stable. Just repeat everything you did today again tomorrow.

"Request acknowledged. Have a wonderful night, Miss Pony." Jack tipped his hat towards her and went into the stable.

With another shiver, Pony walked into her house. Her cat and dog bounded up to her and she knelt to pet them. What was she going to do with her time now? With the hubot being so fast she wouldn't ever have to farm again, outside of her basement crops. She gulped. Farming had been her life for so long and she didn't want to go back to the person she was before she found it. She had to stay busy no matter what. She refused to let herself revert back to her lazy, selfish ways. Pony climbed into bed and shut her eyes.

Tomorrow was going to be a hard one.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's to another week, everyone! Thanks for reading!**

Chapter 5

Jack finished the chores before Pony even woke up.

"Are there any other tasks that you would like me to perform today, Miss Pony?" he asked the bewildered woman as she walked out of her house at six the next morning.

"No. That will be all…Jack," Pony swallowed, "Go preserve your batteries or whatever."

"Request acknowledged. Have a wonderful day, Miss Pony."

"You too, I guess…"

Jack tipped his to hat to her and disappeared into the stable. The wood of her doorway was beginning to splinter under Pony's tight grasp. She hadn't even realized that she had been clutching the frame. She released her grip and looked out to her fields. They were absolutely perfect. And her animals looked content and happy and unaware that the person who had taken care of them that morning wasn't even a person at all. It wasn't even alive.

With a gulp, Pony took her watering can out of her rucksack and filled it up at her pond. Two hours later her basement crops were taken care of and she had no idea how to spend the rest of her day. Not that there was much she could do anyway, what with Dr. Hardy most certainly keeping watch to make sure she completed her full day of bed rest. She sat at her kitchen table and rested her head against her right hand and drummed the tabletop with her other.

There had to be something she could do to keep herself busy. Perhaps she could start tilling the land outside of her farm? There were plenty of vacant lots scattered throughout the valley that nobody used that normally would just be overrun with weeds. The only problem with that idea was it would be a lot of work, which was good, but it would probably be too much for her to handle on her own. She would have to ask for the hubot's help and that would defeat the purpose.

Rubbing her temples, Pony tried to think even harder. If only she could do the work all by herself then there wouldn't be any problems at all. Maybe she could buy some better tools that would allow her to be able to do more work? But her tools were already upgraded to be made of mystrile and she doubted that she could find anything more powerful. Maybe she could invest in a tractor and some sort of watering system? Yeah right. The hubot had used up her money. Plus, she would still technically be entrusting her farm to the hands of machines.

Pony's eyes drifted over to her dusty television screen. When had been the last time she used it? It must have been before the goddess and sprite incident, surely. She could recall that there was a farming channel with many useful tips. Of course, she had never paid any attention to the channel before the incident, but maybe it could give some ideas about what she should do now? She stood up and turned the dial until it clicked. Instantly, a familiar tune began to play.

"_Thornfield Place_!" Pony smiled as she recognized the opening credits to what used to be her favorite show.

Suddenly, she _could_ remember the last time she had used the television…

_"There is no way Jane is going to choose Rivers over Rochester!" Rock defended the pairing he was rooting for as he took in a mouthful of popcorn._

_"But what about Bertha?" Pony retorted as she, too, put her hand in the bowl, "Jane can't let that slide so easily!"_

_"But Rochester was tricked into marrying Bertha! Jane should just talk him into divorcing her so they can be together."_

_"Did divorce even exist back then? Besides, what would happen to Bertha then?"_

_"I dunno," Rock reached for some more popcorn but felt the bottom of the bowl instead._

_"Your turn to refill it," said Pony as her eyes watched Jane glide across the television screen._

_Rock pouted, but got up when he saw that Pony was too distracted by the show to notice. He opened her cabinets and frowned when he saw that they were empty. The frown turned to worry when he saw her refrigerator was also empty._

_"Pony…you're completely out of food," Rock called to her from the other side of the room._

_"What?!" Pony's head popped up and she bolted to her kitchen, "I guess I'm going to have to gather some berries or something from outside ," she sighed when she saw the state of her food supply._

_"It's winter. There aren't any berries outside," Rock gulped._

_"But aren't there, like, snow berries or something?"_

_"I think the only thing that grows this time of year is white grass."_

_"Crap! I'm down to my last 5,000G! What am I going to do?"_

_Pony went back to her table and buried her head into her hands. Rock sat beside her and patted her on the back._

_"Don't worry," he said, "We'll think of something. Maybe I can try sneaking you some food from the inn?"_

_"Really?" she looked up at him, her face brightening, "That would be amazing!"_

_"Hey, a guy can't let his best friend starve!" Rock smiled back at her._

_With that sentence, Pony felt her stomach drop again._

That had happened a little over three years ago. Pony never did figure out who Jane picked, because it was only a week later that the goddess had been turned to stone and she and the Harvest Sprites were sent to another world. Pony had to pay dearly for her indolence and Rock had shown his true loser colors not long after.

"Hey, is that _Thornfield__ Place_?!" a voice called from the window.

Speaking of the devil…

Pony turned around to see Rock waving at her through the glass. She rolled her eyes and promptly walked over and shut the curtains.

"Aw! No fair, Pony! At least let me know if Jane and Rochester ever ended up together!"

She walked back to her television and switched the channel, ignoring the wails from outside. She flipped through her four channels. One channel was the 'entertainment' channel for lack of a better word, which was the channel _Thornfield Place_ was being aired. Another was the shopping network, which was currently nothing but static since Forget Me Not's division was run by the sprites. She still had the weather station, thankfully, although the human weather man was nowhere as accurate as Mercury the sprite. Finally she found the farming channel, which luck would have it, was airing a documentary about tools.

Continuing to ignore Rock's cries from outside, Pony turned up the volume and sat at her table.

_"Tools are very important to a farmer's success,"_ the documentary began, _"Having low level tools can be tough on a beginner, as they tend to use more stamina and do less work. To upgrade tools, farmers must find ore and take the tool to a blacksmith."_

Pony nodded. This was all stuff she knew.

"Is it a show about tools now?!" Rock called from outside, "Well, anyway, I wanted to check and see if you were okay, Pony! I heard that you faint-…"

The volume dial was turned up louder.

_"The order of ore quality is as follows: Junk, Iron, Copper, Silver, Gold, and Mystrile. For most farmers, mystrile is the highest level their tools will ever reach."_

Pony slouched.

_"However, there is an old folk legend that tells of a farmer who had tools of an amazing quality that could harvest a thousand crops in a single day."_

Pony sat up again.

_"However, the farmer incurred the wrath of the Harvest Deities and his farm was razed by their anger. His mighty tools became cursed and could only be cleansed by an ordained follower of the deities. It is believed that they now lay buried underneath what is now Forget-Me-Not Valley and Mineral Town."_

The documentary ended and a commercial for hubots began to play. A contemplative Pony stood up and turned the television off. Legendary tools, huh? Even though it was most likely only a story, it was still worth investigating. It wasn't like she had anything else to do, anyway. The problem was figuring out where the tools were buried, if they were buried anywhere at all. She couldn't just go around digging up the entire valley with her hoe and expect to find anything.

Pony sighed and pulled out her trusty mystrile sickle out of her rucksack. Its light blue blade glimmered underneath the light bulbs. It had taken her forever to upgrade all of her tools to their current status. She had spent hours in the mines breaking open rocks, falling down pitfalls…

The mines! Carter and Flora were archeologists. If anyone knew about cursed tools buried underneath the valley, it would be them.

It was settled then. She would go to the mines and ask Carter and Flora if they knew anything about the legend and if they didn't, maybe they needed some help with the mines? Mining was a hard job, and even if she couldn't farm anymore, Pony could still keep herself busy doing something rewarding. She stuffed her sickle back into her rucksack and stepped outside.

Rock was waiting for her.

"So, was the tool show interesting?" he asked her.

"What are you still doing here?" she groaned.

"I tried to tell you through the window. The entire town is talking about how you fell yesterday. I just wanted to see if you were okay."

"I'm fine. Now go."

"I also had a little chat with Doctor Hardy. He says you're not supposed to be doing any strenuous work until at least tomorrow, so I thought that this would be the perfect time for us to hang out and catch up!"

"I'm so glad that my pain has brought you such joy."

"Great! So what do you want to do?"

"I want you to go home and leave me alone."

Rock threw his hands up into the air

"Pony, whatever it is I did to make you hate me so much, I'm sorry!" the exasperation was clear in his voice, "Whatever it is, I'm infinity times sorry! If your waiting for me to figure out whatever it is I did…Well it's been three years so I'm pretty sure at this point I'm never going to figure it out. I can't stand to see you holed up in this farm all the time! Farming has become….like….an obsessive compulsive disorder with you!"

He gestured out to the fields.

"I mean, just look at that!" Rock continued, "What sane human is able to do all that work before ten in the morning?"

"One with values! That's who!" Pony was absolutely fuming. How dare he?! How. Dare. He?! "Not everyone can be lazy, selfish bums who mooch off their mothers and flirt with everything that moves!"

"Gee, Pony, you seem to be moving and I'm certainly not flirting with you! And gosh, it was so selfish of me to get up early to check on my hurt friend who has been avoiding me for three years, but who I stick by anyway because that's the kind of guy I am! But noooo, wait! I'm nothing but a lazy moocher! Ain't I just the worst person the valley has ever known?"

Pony had had enough. She shoved right by Rock and began to walk to the mines. She ignored him as his footsteps began to fall in place behind hers. He wasn't worth her attention.

"So, where are we going?" his tone suddenly chipper as they walked into the town.

Ignoring him, Pony just kept walking. It was a very long hike, made even longer by the fact that everybody they passed turned to stare at the odd duo like they were looking at a ghost. It was a cloudy day, which pretty much summed up her mood. As they passed Vesta's fields, she stopped only for the briefest moment to see how the competition was doing. The entrance of the mine was soon in view.

There was smoke coming out of the cave.

"I can't believe this!" Flora's exasperated voice billowed out of the cave along with the smoke, "How in the world did I manage to burn soup?"

"It's okay, Flora," Pony could hear Carter's nervous voice say, "Just-just let me handle the cooking from now on."

The two archeologists ran out of the cave into the open air of the valley and coughed like they were hacking out their insides. They did this for several moments until they noticed Pony and Rock standing there watching them. Carter grabbed the fire extinguisher in his tent and ventured back into the cave to stop the fire.

"Why, pray tell, were you making soup in a mine?" Pony asked Flora.

"Well," Flora fiddled with her glasses, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment, "It was the condensed kind, in a can. I was just trying to make the professor lunch when the stove kinda…"

"You have a stove in a cave?" Rock's eyes widened in amazement.

"It's the portable kind," she explained, "I just don't know what I did wrong."

Carter walked out of the cave carrying the stovetop in question. A can of vegetable soup was now permanently melted to the top. Rock burst into laughter and even Pony had to fight a smirk threatening to appear on her face.

"Flora," Carter sighed, "You're supposed to take the soup out of the can before you cook it."

"Sorry, professor," Flora kicked the ground with her boot.

"It's alright," he said as he added the stove to a pile of ruined cooking utensils. "And what did I tell you about calling me 'professor?' It's Carter."

"Sorry, professor."

Rock was still doubled over in laughter and Pony rolled her eyes at him before loudly clearing her throat in order to get the archeologists' attention again.

"Oh, Pony!" Carter cheerfully greeted the farmer, "What brings you and Rock here today?"

"I don't know why _he's_ here," she motioned to Rock, who was just beginning to get ahold of his giggles, "But _I'm_ here to ask you guys a few questions."

"What about?"

"Do you know if there's any ancient farming tools buried inside the mine?"

"Ah, you're talking about the legend of the farmer who angered the gods?"

"Yes."

Carter motioned for them to take a seat and the four of them did so right on the ground. Rock was taking deep breathes to try and steady himself and Flora's face was starting to revert back to its normal, unembarrassed color.

"The truth is, Pony," Carter began, "I have no idea if the tools are just a myth or a hidden reality. It seems strange that farming tools would be buried underneath such a large area, as the legend also states that they can also be found under Mineral Town."

"So the legend isn't true?" Pony asked disappointedly.

"I didn't say that," he rubbed his chin in thought, "Nearly all legends are based on some form of truth. After years of study, I've come up with the theory that our ancestors may have used these mines as a burial ground. It would explain why there is so much priceless jewelry buried here."

"Eerie," said Rock.

"I think that, perhaps, a long time ago there may have been a farmer whose land may have stretched for miles around and who may have been buried here after his death. It would explain how he was able to grow so many crops. His tools may have been buried with him, but it's unlikely that they hold any special powers like the legend describes."

"Would you guys mind if I searched for them? Pony asked, "I could also bring back any other artifacts that I find."

"Of course, Pony!" Flora smiled, "We would love the help."

"It will have to wait until tomorrow, I'm afraid," Carter motioned to the smoke still coming out of the cave."

"I would have to wait until tomorrow anyway," the farmer explained, "I'm technically supposed to be on bed rest."

"Oh yeah, we heard about that. How are you feeling?" Flora asked.

"Well enough to work a whole farm before ten in the morning," Rock mumbled under his breath.

"I'm fine," said Pony, "What time would you like me to start tomorrow?"

"We usually start excavating around 10:30 in the morning," said Carter.

"Great! I'll see you then!"

O/O

Pony was at the mine by ten o'clock the next morning. She paced back and forth, eager to get started. Her rucksack was filled to the brim with food and biodigizers. She knew that mining caused a person's stamina to lower quickly and was in no hurry to faint again anytime soon.

Getting rid of Rock the day before had been a challenge. Honestly, Pony had no idea why he even attempted to be her friend anymore. She had made it quite clear time and time again that she wanted nothing to do with him. The boy did have excellent self-perseverance, she would give him that much. It was a shame that he wouldn't ever use it for something important. Like, for instance, working?

The worst part about it though was that Pony knew it was partially her fault that Rock was the way he was…The old her hadn't exactly been a beacon of work ethic herself. But she had been able to change and was actively pushing herself to make sure that pathetic excuse for a woman never popped again. That was, after all, the reason she stood in front of the mine that morning. If she could change, then so could Rock. He was just too lazy to.

"Pony, it's great to see you! Are you ready to get started?" Flora called from the entrance of the tent.

Pony turned to face Flora and was greeted to the smile of Carter as well. He walked over to her and placed something around her neck. It was a camera.

"We figured that there may be some ancient murals or large rune stones down in the farther depths. We want you to take pictures of everything you can't carry," he explained.

Flora seemed to remember something and walked back into her tent. She emerged moments later carrying a miner's hat, complete with a built in flashlight.

"It's dark down there and you may need to watch out for falling rocks," she handed the hat to Pony.

The three walked into the cave. Pony took a few moments to let her eyes adjust to the sudden darkness. It had been a while since she had been in there. She could make out the main room, a rectangle full of packed earth that had an untold amount of priceless jewelry buried beneath it. As her eyes became used to the lack of light she could see the far wall. There were entrances to two mines along the wall. The first mine she knew was only ten stories deep, having explored the entire thing herself back when she had to gather ore for her tools. The second mine was larger. Much larger. She had no idea how far down it went. It was the mine she would be exploring that day.

Carter handed her a walkie talkie.

"Be careful down there," he warned, "If anything goes wrong just call us with this and we'll send help immediately."

Pony nodded and walked into the mine.

"Good luck!" she could hear Flora's voice echo from behind her.

The light on her miner's hat lit up the cave the best it could and Pony began searching for the stairs that would lead to the next floor. She found them and repeated the process for a couple dozen floors. She would occasionally smash a few rocks as she went down and would gather the precious jewels hidden within. She would glance at the walls to see if there was anything of note on them and so far there hadn't been. Pony was on the fiftieth when she noticed the bugs.

The insects were a bit of a surprise, considering Pony didn't know that anything could live down there. What was their food source? If Carter was right and the mines were, for lack of a better word, also catacombs, the bodies would've decayed centuries ago. Yet, there they were buzzing all around her. They left her alone which was perfectly alright with Pony. She did smash them with her hammer when they got too close to her though.

There were more bugs the farther down she went. At times the buzzing of wings was near deafening. Grimacing, Pony took some pictures of the loud creatures. A hive of insects in the far depths of a mine was probably something to take notice of.

Holding her ears whenever possible, the farmer turned miner continued down the mine. Hours passed and she found herself on the hundredth floor, the hundred and fiftieth floor, the two hundredth floor. Sometimes Pony felt like she was being watched. It was nonsense to think that, she knew. There was no one down there except for the bugs and her. At times she thought she would hear traces of sound behind the noise of the insects, but she shrugged it off. She found nothing of historical importance. No murals, no lithographs, and certainly no cursed farm equipment. Although coming up empty on any artifacts was starting to get a little aggravating, Pony was still managing to find some pleasure in the hard work and the rucksack full of jewels.

Finally, she reached the bottom two-hundred and fifty floors down. The room was empty, save for another cave along the far wall. Pony took a bite of rice ball that she had brought with her and walked through.

Pony's breath caught in her throat as she entered. She had finally found something.

In the center of the room lay a sword.

Its blade shimmered underneath e the light of her miner's hat, not at all rusted by the wear of time. A sheath lay next to it, the leather as fresh as the day it was made. The sword looked new and perfect like it had just been forged that very day instead of thousands of years ago.

She walked up to it slowly. This blade was special, she knew that. She didn't want to disturb a speck of dust around it even though she knew that she would be taking it up to the surface with her soon. Pony knelt down next to it and ran her fingers across the steel. She took care not to cut herself. It was then that she noticed the stone that lay next to it.

It was sitting there like a note almost, waiting to be read by the first person to find it. Pony looked down at the symbols and pursed her lips when she saw that they were in some ancient language she didn't understand. Hopefully Carter and Flora would be able to read it.

Pony placed the sword into its sheath and connected it to her belt. It was so light, like it was created with the intention of being able to be used by anyone regardless of their strength. Or, maybe she just had the muscle to carry it. Farming had helped her grow a lot stronger.

With sword and tablet in tow, she climbed back up to the surface.

"This is unbelievable!" Carter gasped in awe when he saw the treasures that Pony carried, "This is the greatest find that has ever been unearthed here! I can't wait to show Flora!"

Flora was out on her break.

"So can you tell me what the tablet says?" the dusty Pony asked.

"I'm sorry, Pony. I only know a few words of this language of the top of my head and none of them are written here. I'm going to send it off to the Archeologists' Guild the first chance I get so it can be analyzed."

Pony just stared at the sword in Carter's hands, happy that her hard day's work had paid off.

She had no idea that the weapon would save her life in the coming weeks.

**Author's Note: I do recommend reading **_**Jane Eyre, **_**if you haven't already. It's one of my favorite books. That's what **_**Thornfeild Place **_**is a parody of. :) **


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hey, everyone! I'm posting this a day early because I'm going to be busy tomorrow. Hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter 6

The god with the blue aura walked past several pools of water. Within the pools, he could see glimpses of all of the villages. It was how he and his children watched over human kind. Things seemed to be going well in most of the settlements. Farmers were still growing plentiful crops and the villagers were all still staying true to their small town ways.

The goings-on in Mineral Town, however, greatly disturbed him.

The mayor there had recently acquired one of the blasted robots. The simple folk of the small town had been enraptured way too quickly by the power of the hubot. It made the blue immortal fear for the integrity of the rest of the towns, should the technology enter into them as well. At least the farmer in the nearby Forget-Me-Not Valley didn't seem too keen on the one that was forced upon her.

"Father," the being with the red aura rose out of the pool that connected to Castenet, "Two of the newer sprites just arrived at Sephina's spring and Des is too busy rounding up her other hundred to explain their duties to them."

"The ones from Echo Village? Why didn't they just use their spring to come here?" the blue one asked.

"Apparently, Des never bothered to teach them how. That incident a few years ago involving her and the valley sprites being sent to another dimension made her put a lot of things on hold."

Rubbing the back of his bald head, the being with the blue aura let out a tiny huff, "If she had just done her job and forced Pony Harvester to work on that farm in the first place, I wouldn't have needed to teach her a lesson!"

"Pardon me for saying so, Father, but perhaps she has more duties then she can handle? After all, she looks over more communities then the rest of us combined."

"You may have a point there, Ignis. I'll keep that in mind once the task at hand has been dealt with. Send the sprites in."

Ignis bowed to his father and descended back into the pool that led to Castanet. In his place rose two small harvest sprites. One was male wearing a red outfit and had eyes full of wonder. The other was female in purple whose disposition seemed far less cheerful.

"Look, Alice!" said the bright male sprite, "It's the High Harvest King!"

The High Harvest King smiled and knelt down so he could be at eye level with the sprites.

"Welcome, little ones, to the Hall of Blessed Springs!" He held out his arms to signify the entire area around him, "This is a most special place in a realm different from where the humans dwell. It is here that my children and I watch over the entire planet. May I ask your names?"

"My name is Alice, my ledge," the female bowed, "And this is my brother, Aaron."

"It's an honor to meet you, sir!" Aaron squealed.

"Tone it down and show some respect, nimwad!"

"Bossy boots!"

"Sprites! Sprites!" the king tore the feuding siblings apart, "Now is not the time for such petty grievances! You and the other Harvest Sprites have some very important tasks to complete. The time of Renewal is upon us!"

"So soon?" Aaron gasped.

Alice sat down at the edge of the pool, "The other sprites have told us stories of past Renewals. The world must be at the brink of a terrible epoch indeed."

The king stood to his full height and held his arms behind his back. His eyes glazed over as he looked over at Mineral Town's pool.

"I fear that epoch may already be in the process of happening, little ones."

Gasping with shock, Aaron held on to his sister in fear. Alice paid him no mind.

"We are at your command, sire. What is it that you ask us to do?" Alice asked.

"The other Harvest Sprites are busy assembling at Marvelous Plains, an area far away from human civilization. I imagine that since this is your first Renewal, you'll be placed on the scouting and searching team in which you will be in charge of searching the areas in between the villages for humans that need saving. Ignis, the goddesses, and I can only see what happens inside the villages themselves. Everything else is a total blind spot for us."

"Understood, sir."

"How do we get to Marvelous Plains, sire?" Aaron asked.

"You can use this pool to teleport there," the king walked up to a body of water on the far side of the room.

With a hop to the ground, the two sprites jumped off the pool to Castanet and rushed to the one that would take them to the other sprites.

"Good luck, little ones, and may the life bringing power of the Harvest be with you."

Aaron and Alice descended into the pool and soon the king was alone in the hall again.

"DES!" he bellowed, summoning his daughter to the hall.

A splash could be heard at the pond that connected to the Sunshine Islands.

"Dum-da-da-DAA! What is it, High Harvest King? I was just in the middle of having a delightful chat with a young farmer named Mark," the Harvest Goddess said.

"I just had a chat with your sprites, Aaron and Alice. Apparently they didn't know how to use the springs to teleport. Care to explain why?"

"Well, it's a little hard to teach anything when you're busy being turned to stone_,__father_," Des crossed her arms and gritted her teeth.

The king crossed his arms as well, "I would watch your attitude there, Des. You know better than to get into my bad graces."

"Why? Belladonna does it _all the time_ and she doesn't get turned into a statue."

"She's a witch. You are a _goddess_. She's also not responsible for the wellbeing of six villages. I'm not going to need to give any more of your villages to Mariel, am I? Remember the Flower Bud incident ten thousand years ago?"

Des dropped her arms and looked down at the floor, her face changing from irritation to sadness.

"Of course I do, father," she said softly, "That was a tragedy that nobody could've predicted and I will eternally be sorry for being too late to stop it. But, that hardly matters now anyway. With the Renewal coming, there may not even be six villages to go around."

"We'll see afterward. Just don't forget your responsibilities ever again. Now, finish rounding up your Harvest Sprites. There is much work to be done."

With a nod, Des disappeared back into the pool.

Sighing, the High Harvest King walked to the pool in center of the room and ran his hands across the chairs that surrounded it. He stopped when he came upon the seventh, the chair that no longer had a deity to sit in it. He stared at it for a long time.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It had been four days since Stella and Finn left with the goddess tree sapling to go to Waffle Island and Gale could tell that Molly was getting a little restless. She fidgeted a lot more, her hands unable to stay still and constantly pushed locks of hair behind her ears. She would stop in the middle of her fields and look around as if she misplaced something. When setting the table, she would lay out Stella and Finn's plates, only to blink in confusion and pick them back up again. He could tell that she was trying to keep it together, but still had trouble grasping that they were gone.

And for his part, Gale did his best to try and be a good husband and to help her stay strong, even though his heart was breaking into a thousand worried pieces as well. How long did it take to deliver a tree? Was Waffle Island really that far away, or had something happened to his daughter? He had looked through his crystal ball several times to try and locate Stella, but it stayed foggy. He wished that he had a scrying pool, but the only ones in existence were at the Hall of Blessed Springs and there was no way that the Harvest Deities would ever let him enter there.

Gale figured that he would never know why the kings and goddesses hated him so much. From what little he could gather, it had something to do with him being a fellow immortal. Then again, Vivi was immortal as well and they tolerated her just fine. She was also the Witch Princess' daughter, but by what father, if any, he had no clue. He had no idea if he even had parents himself or if he had just magically appeared one day.

But Gale was now a parent himself. One that was growing increasingly worried.

It was a particularly sunny Wednesday and Gale was busy washing up the breakfast dishes. Chrystal was on the floor playing with Da-chan and the family cat.

"Ribbit! Ribbit! Come on Da-chan and kitty! Let's be froggies!" she giggled as she hopped across the floor.

When the cat didn't respond, Chrystal grabbed the poor thing by its tail and held it in the air. The cat let out an agonizing, painful howl.

"Come kitty! Be a froggy!"

"Chrystal, put the cat down! They don't like being held by their tails," Gale turned around at the sound of the animal's cries.

"No!" Chrystal stuck her tongue out defiantly at him, "You can't make me, dada!"

Molly chose that moment to walk in, covered in field soil and wiping her gloved hand across her brow. She took one look at Chrystal and the tortured cat.

"Chrystal, put Crescent down, please. You're hurting her," Molly said.

Her face contorted into a pout, but Chrystal put the cat down anyway. She crossed her arms and moped while the now free Crescent Moon sprinted at the speed of light into the next room.

Molly shook her head and smiled at Gale before looking at Chrystal once more. She kneeled down to face her.

"Hey Missy McPoutyPants, why so glum? Mama was going to teach you about the Harvest Kings and Goddesses once she was done with work, remember?"

Chrystal picked her teddy bear up, "Da-chan says he already knows all about them."

"I'm sure he does, sweetie, but what about you?"

The pout turned into a look of curiosity and Chrystal held out her arms so Molly could pick her up. Chuckling, Molly did so and walked up to the bookcase and pulled out a tome with her free hand. She sat down at the kitchen table with Chrystal on her lap and the book opened in front of them.

After watching them for a moment, Gale turned around and went back to washing the dishes. Hearing his wife talk about the deities always made him feel uncomfortable. Molly's whole family were devout followers of their ways. He even had a hunch that their last name stemmed from that fact. Smirking, he thought of how mad the deities must be that his last name was now 'Harvester' too, as he had no surname of his own to give to Molly when they got married.

Molly had no idea that the deities hated him. Gale never told her. How could he? He barely understood it himself. No matter the reason, he didn't want her to feel like she was being torn between her love and her beliefs.

"There are six deities in the pantheon," Molly began, "Three Harvest Goddesses, two Harvest Kings and the Witch Princess. They also have countless little Harvest Sprite helpers, like…Finn."

"Three Harvest Goddesses?! How do you tell them apart?" Chrystal gasped.

"They all look different, sweetie. They also live in different towns and have different jobs." Molly pointed at one of the goddesses, "This is the Harvest goddess of Crops and Animals. She actually lives in several different places! She lives in Mineral Town, the Sunshine Islands, Bluebell, Konohana, Echo Village, and Forget-Me-Not Valley. The valley is also where your auntie Pony lives. She sent you Da-chan, remember?"

"I 'member."

"This goddess has to live in so many different places because it's her job to keep plants and animals healthy. All of the deities have that power, which is why mama does so well, but this goddess is the best at it! She also has the most Harvest Sprites to help her. Over a hundred!"

"Wow!"

"I know, right?" Molly giggled and pointed at another goddess, "This is the Harvest Goddess of Emotion and Music."

"She's purple!"

"Yep, she sure is! She lives in Flower Bud Village. It's her job to read human's emotions and to try and help them overcome bad feelings. If humans get too sad and angry though, she runs out of energy and turns to stone! The only thing that can bring her back if that happens is for a pure-hearted human to collect musical notes."

"Musical notes?"

"I know it's a little silly, but that's just how she rolls. The last Harvest Goddess is the one who lives right here in Castanet! She's the Harvest Goddess of Land Design! That means she decides how the planet looks; where the mountains and rivers go, things like that. She also helps new countries get their start, like the countries where Prince Amir and Prince William are from."

"They were on the TV!"

"Yes they were, honey. Our goddess also uses the power of the elemental bells to keep Castanet strong," Molly pointed at yet another picture, "Now; this here is the Witch Princess…"

"I thought the lady who lived in the woods was the Witch Princess?" Chrystal asked.

From over at the sink, Gale scoffed.

Molly looked up, stared at the back of his head and giggled. She shifted Chrystal to the other side of her lap and turned the page, "Oh, our friend in the Fugue Forest would certainly like to think so, but she's just an ordinary witch."

"Like Dada's an ordinary wizard?" Chrystal asked.

"Your Dada's anything but ordinary, sweetie."

Gale couldn't help but blush.

"Anyway," Molly continued, "The real Witch Princess has long, curly blond hair and is often seen flying around on her broomstick. She is the Harvest Deity of Sickness and Death. There can be no good without evil, after all. Instead of looking like little people, her sprites take the form of teddy bears."

Chrystal squirmed uncomfortably and held Da-chan tighter.

"She and the Harvest Goddess of Crops and Animals always seem to be at odds, so the Witch Princess can often be found in the same areas where the goddess lives," Molly turned another page, "And finally, there are the Harvest Kings.

"You've actually met the red one a few times, sweetie. He lives atop Mount Garmon and looks over all of the farms for hundreds of miles around. He is second in command to the High Harvest King. The High King is the leader of all the deities and is also their father. He lives in a magical place called the Hall of Blessed Springs. The Hall exists in an ethereal realm that no human can enter. It is here that the deities watch over all of human kind. It is said that every single Goddess Spring connects to this place and that the water in them pulls its magic from there."

"Can Harvest Sprites enter, Mama?"

"They sure can, honey! And speaking of sprites: they are created by the goddesses out of thin air and magic. Sometimes, when a sprite is extra special, the goddess will use a focus item, like a leaf or a droplet of water, in their creation spell. This will leave her weakened, however, and she'll have to take some time to recover her powers."

"Finn was a special sprite, wasn't he, Mama?"

"…Yes he was, Chrystal."

"He's keeping Stella safe, isn't he?"

Molly hiccupped and looked out the window, her mind now worried about her eldest daughter.

Gale put down the dish towel and walked over to pick Chrystal off of Molly's lap. He put her on the ground.

"Chrystal…how about you and Da-chan play in your room…" he said to her.

"No!" she stuck out her tongue again.

"Chrystal, play in your room, please," Molly whispered.

Dragging both her feet and her teddy bear across the floor, she listened and went into her bedroom and closed the door. When it shut, Molly couldn't help it anymore. An explosion of tears erupted from her face. Gale took her into his arms and she buried her head into his chest. He placed his own head on top of hers and let out a few tears himself. They wept for several moments.

"Oh, Gale, I'm so worried it's making me sick! Why aren't they back yet?" Molly sobbed.

"Darling…I wish I had the answer…I keep using my powers to try and detect her…but nothing seems to work," Gale said.

"I just got to be patient. I know the Harvest Goddess will watch over her. I just got to be patient," Molly got up and kissed Gale's cheek, "I'm going to take a nap, honey. Maya and Chase invited us over for dinner later. Maybe that will help us get our minds off of things?"

She crawled into bed. Gale went to check on Chrystal and found her blissfully playing with her teddy bear while the cat watched her from atop her dresser, being extra careful to stay out of her reach. Gale figured that it was a good of time as any to go check his crystal ball. He closed the door carefully and he went outside.

The sky was cloudless and the spring air was crisp. The walk to his Fortune Telling shop was quick and without interruption. The townspeople were all probably in the middle of lunch time. The bell above his door jingled when he opened it and soon he was staring at the contents of his former home. His gigantic telescope was still positioned on the second floor and his crystal ball was still in the main room. He walked over to it and sat in his chair.

"Please, oh crystal ball, show me a glimpse of Stella." He chanted.

Swirls of purple fog circled around the inside of the globe, the magic looking for any trace of what was asked of it. After several moments, the glass stayed foggy and Gale was left just as clueless as when he arrived.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Startled, Gale stood up out of his chair and went to open it. Who could it be? If somebody needed to talk to him they usually asked Molly.

A turn of the knob revealed his visitor to be none other than Vivi. Mysteries never ceased to abound.

"What…are you doing here?" He asked with a raise of his eyebrow.

"Well, hello to you too, Gale," Vivi pushed herself inside. Gale shut the door behind her.

"Why are you here, Vivi?" he asked again, this time crossing his arms.

The witch in question pulled out a chair from the corner of the room and made herself comfortable. She checked for dirt underneath her finger nails before answering.

"Can you feel the shifting in the air?"

"Huh?" Gale was puzzled.

"Hmm. I figured a second rate magic user like yourself wouldn't. The life force of the planet is getting jittery. Something really big is about to happen. It almost feels like the time Mother and I found you wondering around in the forest when you were young, but on a much larger scale," Vivi closed her eyes and breathed in, her exhale coming out in a shudder, "We are at the brink of something huge. I wanted to tell you to be on your guard."

"That is uncharacteristically… kind of you."

"Hey, you can take my advice or leave it! I'm telling you for Molly and your children's benefit, too. Or should I say 'child.' In a string of stupid things you've done, trusting Stella with a Harvest Goddess was probably the most insane thing anybody in the history of the world has ever done. You know that they hate you, right? I don't like you much either, but our little rivalry is nothing compared to the revulsion they have for you."

"She's Molly's child too…"

"Let's hope that alone is enough to keep her safe," Vivi walked to the door and prepared to leave, "I'll let you know if I sense anything else. In the meantime, just protect your family."

The door shut behind her and Gale was left to think about her words.

He had no idea how right she was

**Authors Note: Hey, everyone! This was actually the last chapter that SweetieLove beta read for me before she suddenly became inactive on the site. I'm hoping that she will come back, but until then, I find myself in need of another beta. Until one comes along, I'm going to comb through my chapters very carefully by myself and continue posting weekly.**

**In other news, I found myself a copy of the very rare Harvest Moon 64! Since people often say it is the best in the entire series and tends to go into dark places the other games wouldn't dare to reach, I snatched it right up. I would love to hear any tips, secrets, or things to be on the lookout for from anyone who has played the game themselves. If it gives me a deep enough impression, I'll try to work it into the story somehow. ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Hey, everyone! This is the first chapter that hasn't been beta read so I apologize for any grammar discrepancies. ^^; **

Chapter 8

The day after finding the sword, Pony stuck her head out her door to see if Jack was still doing his chores. The hubot was as diligent as ever and the farmland looked stunning. Pony then checked her electronic money counter and was satisfied to see that her gold amount was steadily going up again. She quickly took care of her basement crops and rushed to the mine, eager to see if she could unearth more treasure that day.

Flora greeted her with a hug.

"Pony, I can't believe you found something yesterday! That sword is absolutely amazing!" Flora squealed.

Pony awkwardly patted her on the back. She wasn't exactly used to physical contact.

"Ah, Pony!" Carter walked out of the tent with a smile on his face, "Just the person I wanted to see! I think I may have discovered a new mine yesterday. I trust that you have your hammer with you?"

"Of course," she broke away from Flora's embrace.

"Excellent! Put on your mining hat and follow me!"

The three went inside the main room of the caves and walked up to the wall that led into the mines themselves. Carter indicated to the wall next to the mine that Pony had found the sword in the day before. She nodded and took out her hammer. There was a brand new mine entrance seconds later. Coughing up dust, she put away her tool and entered.

"Don't worry!" Pony called to the archeologists after her coughing had subsided, "I still have the walkie talkie and camera. See you both soon!"

This mine was just as dark as the others and the flashlight from the miner's hat did little to change that. There were insects in this one too, which caused Pony to groan and remember that she had forgotten to tell Carter about the bugs the day before. She made a mental note to bring earmuffs the next time she went mining. The noisy bugs had to be put out of her mind at the moment. There were stairs to locate and hopefully more artifacts to uncover. Staircase by staircase the farmer traversed the mine, keeping her eyes wide open for anything peculiar, and occasionally stopping to put a rare gem or two into her bag. She soon found herself on the two-hundredth and fifty-fourth floor. Pony glanced around the room. There was nothing special about it. It appeared to be exactly the same as the others. She began to search for the stairs that would take her down to the two-hundredth and fifty-fifth floor. In the darkness she could not see the ancient booby trap that had been put there long ago to keep anyone from discovering what was hidden on the next floor.

There was a snapping sound and suddenly Pony was falling, her surprised shriek nearly echoing all the way to the surface. The terrifying descent lasted a long time as instead of being stopped by the ground of the next floor, she fell right through it. As well as the floor after, and after, and after. All she could do was brace herself and wait for her enviable fate. She didn't want to die. She had promised the Harvest Goddess that she would live the rest of her life happily. She had her family farm to look after. Who would run it? Would it remain vacant until one of her nieces grew up to inherit it? Her nieces! When had been the last time she had visited Molly and the girls? She couldn't die yet! She couldn't die yet!

The feeling of landing on what felt like a cloud stopped these thoughts.

Pony had no other way to describe it. One second she was falling to her death, the next she was stopped by what felt like a mass of air. A piercing shriek, one that didn't belong to her, enveloped the room as she landed and she felt something dissipating around her as she dropped to the ground. Gasping for air, Pony looked around to try to see what she had landed on, but there was nothing in the cave except for rocks. With a shiver, she pulled out her walkie talkie and radioed Carter.

"Carter, its Pony. I think we may have a problem," she looked up at the series of holes that she had created during her long fall. They seemed to go on forever. She had no idea what floor she was on or how she was going to get out.

"What seems to be the trouble," Carter's voice came through the other side.

"I think I may have triggered some ancient trap or something. Or maybe it was a pitfall. I don't know. I fell and there is no way for me to get back to the surface."

"Have you sustained any injuries?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Flora and I will lower a rope and harness down to you. Hang in there."

The walkie talkie clicked off and Pony returned it to the holster on her belt. There was nothing left to do but wait. She assumed she had to be on the last floor since she couldn't see to any staircases that led downward either. Pony glanced around the room again, when suddenly her eyes spotted something that she had missed during her initial scan of the room. There was something on the far wall. Pony picked herself up and walked over to investigate.

There were two torches close to the wall. Pony took out some matches and lit them. The sudden amount of light burned her eyes for a few moments and she had to wait for them to adjust. They did, and that's when she saw the mural.

Pictures of stars spread across the surface of the wall like a blanket. Some of them formed constellations while others stood alone. In the very center of the mural was a giant circle almost as big as Pony herself. The circle was blue with odd, green blobs spread across it. It almost looked like a map of the world, though, if it was, the ancient map makers had gotten the shapes of the continents completely wrong. There were lines coming out of the circle that weaved themselves through the stars. Pony traced one with her finger and found that it led to another, smaller circle that resembled the one in the center, only it had different shaped blobs. There were six of these circles. Pony followed all of them and found herself at a different circle each time. The final one made her gasp. These blobs actually _were _the right shape of the continents. She touched where Forget-Me-Not valley was with her finger tip.

What did this mean? Were these pictures supposed to be _other _worlds? But that was impossible! Sure, there other _planets, _lifeless spheres of rock and gas circling around the sun along with the one she was standing on. But no other planets had oceans and greenery. Nowhere else had the Harvest Deities. Nowhere else had _life. _Of course, people had wondered throughout all of history if they were alone in the universe and modern science had proved that to be the case. There was nothing else out there in the void of space.

So why did these ancient peoples depict that to not be the case? They obviously didn't have modern telescopes to show them that they were alone so they had every right to believe that there could be other worlds, but what made them decide that there were _five_ others? What made them choose those particular blobs for continents? Why was there one in the center that had pathways leading to all the others? How had such an ancient people known the precise shape of their own world_? Why was this mural buried so deep underground?!_

Pony pulled out her camera and began to frantically take pictures. The mural was far too big to fit into one photo so she took as many as possible in hopes that they would be able to fit together like a puzzle once they were developed. This was astounding! It may have even been a greater discovery than the sword! She was so preoccupied she almost didn't notice the rescue rope being lowered down to her. She put the camera away and strapped herself into the harness and tugged on the rope twice to signal to be pulled up. Carter and Flora had to be shown this discovery immediately.

The ride back up was much faster than the trip down. Pony soon found herself staring into Carter and Flora's faces. She couldn't help but frown when she noticed that Rock was there too.

"What is it with you and falling down lately?" Rock laughed.

Ignoring him, Pony turned to face Carter and Flora.

"You'll never believe what I found," she breathed.

O/O

An hour later the photos were developed and Carter and Flora were at a loss for words. Rock stared down at the pictures with eyes as wide as the archeologists'.

"Are those _other worlds_?" he gasped.

"There's no telling what this mural could mean," Carter said, his voice barely above a whisper, "Maybe the ancients believed that souls went to other worlds after they died and the other five circles represents different afterlives?"

"Then why isn't our planet in the center?" Flora asked.

"Oh my gosh! Is our world an afterlife? Are we DEAD?!" Rock gasped again.

Pony kicked him in his side.

"What I want to know is what these constellations mean," Carter continued, "I never was good at astronomy. I wish I had some star charts to compare these to."

"I bet the library in Mineral Town has some," Pony said, "Let me go clean all this dirt off and I can go ride my horse there and see."

"You're a lifesaver, Pony," Flora sighed with gratitude.

Pony got up and ran back to her farm. A shower and quick clothes change later she entered her stable to fetch her horse. There in the corner sat Jack, sitting perfectly still. His head turned to face her when she entered, his camera lens eyes staring intently at her. Pony had completely forgotten that he was in there.

"Hello, Miss Pony," he greeted her, "Have you thought of another task that you wish me to complete?"

"I guess you could stand by the shipment box and wait for Mayor Thomas to come and pick up the shipments," she shrugged.

"Request acknowledged. Do you wish me to do anything else, Miss Pony?"

"No, that'll be all, Jack."

"Confirmed. Have a pleasant day, Miss Pony."

With a tip of his hat, Jack slipped outside. Pony just sighed and saddled her horse. She was still a little bit in the "uncanny valley" as the goddess put it, but was slowly starting to grow immune to the hubot's creepiness. There were more important things to do then dwell on a machine. She led her horse outside and climbed onto its back. Soon she was out of Forget-Me-Not Valley and on her way to Mineral Town. The town was about a half hour away on foot, so she would be there in no time on horseback. This was the first time Pony had left the valley in a long time and it felt weird not to be surrounded by the natural stone walls of the high cliffs. The area between the valley and town was a huge, grassy meadow speckled with the occasional tree. She followed a dusty dirt path until she reached the crossroads. To the left was the City; to the right was the many other farming communities scattered across the land. Mineral Town was straight ahead.

The path led to a small forest just south of her Cousin Claire's farmland. Gotz the woodcutter was standing outside of his house.

"Hey there, Pony!" he greeted her, "What brings you to Mineral Town today?"

"I'm just on my way to the library. I may also give my cousin some farming pointers while I'm here. Thomas said that she's been having a bit of trouble getting started," she answered.

Gotz laughed, "I don't think you'll have to worry about Claire anymore! Not since Mayor Thomas bought that hubot contraption for the town!"

"Hu…bot?"

"It's been a huge labor saver for the entire town! I haven't had to chop down any trees in days!"

So Thomas really did go buy a hubot like he said he would a few days ago. What did Gotz mean by "the entire town" though? Pony thought the mayor was just going to buy it to use as Forget-Me-Not Valley's shipper. It occurred to her that she hadn't been around to greet the person who picked up her shipment yesterday, whoever or _whatever_ it was. Luckily her payment had still been forwarded into her account. She spurred her horse on and crossed the bridge to her cousin's farmland.

"That was amazing, Pete! I've never seen anybody harvest so fast!" Claire clapped her hands together with glee as Pony rode into the farmland.

Immediately Pony spotted the machine getting the accolades. Pete the hubot looked _exactly _like Jack, right down to the gravity defying bangs. Future Tech must not have bothered to create any other model types.

"Hey, cousin! What am I? Invisible?" Pony tried to get Claire's attention.

Claire turned to face the girl on horseback, her face immediately breaking out into a grin when she saw her family member.

"Pony! It's about time you came to visit me! How have you been?"

Pony jumped off her horse and let it graze in her cousin's fields. She couldn't help but raise her eye brows at the fields in question. Claire's fields, while nowhere near the level of her own, were already pretty amazing. Her cousin was a beginner. She was only supposed to have a few patches of turnips and maybe a few potatoes. Not twelve patches of each and even a few strawberry plants. How did she manage to get strawberries already?!

"Not too bad for an office worker, huh?" Claire grinned at Pony's surprised face.

"How much of this did you actually yourself?" Pony asked.

"That patch of turnips over there!" Claire ran over and patted the tiny sprouts.

"Hello, miss," the hubot walked over to Pony and greeted her, tipping his cap as he did so, "I am called Pete. May I ask your name?"

A wave of de'-ja' vu washed over the farmer as she answered, "Pony."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Pony. I take it that you are a relative of Miss Claire's?"

"Yep! She sure is!" Claire bounced back over and joined the conversation, "She actually runs the farm over in Forget-Me-Not Valley!"

"Ah. I accompany the Mayor Thomas in the gathering of shipments from your farm. I am actually waiting for him to come at this moment so we may complete that task."

As if on cue, Mayor Thomas entered Claire's farmland. He smiled when he saw Pony.

"Hello, Pony! I took your advice and bought a hubot for Mineral Town. Isn't Pete amazing? I've been using him to help out all the villagers. Our profits have been soaring ever since! I even noticed that you invested in one yourself!"

Unsure how to respond, Pony just nodded.

"Well, Pete and I best be off! I'm sure you left lots for us to gather, Miss Harvester! Have a wonderful stay in Mineral Town!"

"Farewell, Miss Claire and Miss Pony," Pete tilted his cap before joining the mayor in exit.

Claire waved enthusiastically at the departing pair while Pony just kicked the ground with her feet. What Thomas just said left her a little more than uncomfortable. It almost sounded like the villagers were no longer doing their jobs and instead were letting the machine run the town. It felt wrong on so many levels. Were the hardworking people of Mineral Town really so quick to abandon their strong ethics and morals in favor of becoming complacent and lazy? If so, they were no better than Rock. Were all humans just a technological leap away from becoming bums? Pony shuddered at the thought.

"Ohmygosh! I have so much to tell you Pones!" Claire glomped her contemplating cousin, "Mineral Town is so cool! Way better than the city! I must say though, being related to you made people have some unrealistic expectations of me. Not everyone can become a master farmer over night! I guess it's not completely your fault though. Last I heard Molly and Tina were also doing awesome! The Harvester name is a freaking brand now! How cool is that? Pete has been a real lifesaver. There's no way I could've made this farm without him. I'm thinking of getting some animals next week. Oh, I hope Mark is doing okay on that island. He told me that there was some girl on the island named Chelsea who also wants to be a farmer so he has to deal with competition already! And he doesn't even have a hubot!"

"Breathe, Claire, breathe," Pony patted her cousin on the back.

Claire calmed down as much as she could, but excitement was still clear on her face.

"I'm just happy to see you. It's been a long time since anybody in the family has heard from you. We were starting to get worried," Claire looked at the ground and twisted a strand of hair around her finger, "I mean, one season you were visiting the city every other night and the next you just stopped. I know you rescued the goddess. I visit her myself sometimes at Mineral Town's pond and she speaks so highly of you. Aunt Sara was so proud when she heard about your shipping numbers. She was starting to think that sending you to Uncle John's farm was the wrong thing to do…"

Pony's eyes misted over when she heard her parent's names, "Could we change the subject, please?"

Claire caught her cousin's change in demeanor, "Of course," she said softly. Her face then changed to a wry grin, "So whatever happened to that cute blonde guy you used to bring to the city all the time?"

Pony rolled her eyes and groaned. Leave it to Claire to bring this up.

"He's still available, if you want him," she said flatly, "Although you may have to deal with a girl named Lumina first."

"Ooo, there's a love triangle? I think I'll stay out of your guys' way to avoid it from becoming a love rectangle-square-thing."

An eyebrow was instantly raised on Pony's part. Was her cousin serious?

"Claire, there has never been anything between Rock and me. In fact, the very thought of it makes me want to vomit."

"That's not what I remember! I seem to recall that you refused to look at other men whenever he came to the clubs with us. And you should have seen your face when he so much as talked to another girl!"

"I was a different person then, Claire. I've grown and he hasn't. He's still the lazy, needy brat he was back then and it absolutely disgusts me. And it's starting to sound like you have some growing up left to do yourself."

Pouting, Claire said, "You really take the fun out of things, Pony."

"I do my best."

Claire smiled at the comment. "Maybe I could set you up with one of the single guys here? There's this guy named Gray whose all stoic and stuff and I think he would get along really well with the new you."

"Whatever makes you happy, blondie," Pony laughed.

"So, what's been going on with you lately?"

The women sat in the grass as Pony told Claire about the last four years of her life in Forget Me Not Valley. She told Claire about how she had to save the Harvest Goddess and sprites from banishment, how she turned the ranch into the farming empire it was, and how she was now helping Carter and Flora with their work.

"That mural sounds phenomenal," Claire breathed in awe, "You have to tell me what it means as soon as they figure it out!"

"That's actually part of the reason I came to Mineral Town. I need to go to the library and get some books about stars to help the archeologists figure out what the constellations mean." Pony said.

Claire stood up and pulled on her cousin's arm, "Let's go now! Mary's going to be closing the library soon!"

They ran out of Claire's farmland and into Mineral Town. The townies jumped out of the way when they noticed the two girls barreling through the pathway. Pony recognized many faces from some of the festivals held in the valley. The library was soon in view.

Mary was busy stacking books when the two farmers burst in.

"Mary! Lend us all your books about stars stat!" Claire pounded her fist on Mary's desk.

The librarian merely adjusted her glasses and looked over at Pony.

"You're Pony Harvester, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," Pony answered.

Mary pulled an envelope off her desk and handed it to her.

"Somebody left this note on my desk for you," she explained, "About an hour ago I went upstairs to put some books away and when I came back it was just lying there. I never even heard the door open."

Pony's name was written on the envelope in over embellished letters. Shrugging, she tore the paper open and groaned when she saw who the note was from.

_To the radiant Pony,_

_It is my custom to warn my victims before I strike, so consider this your warning. Tonight I will steal something from you and maybe even your heart._

_We will meet again soon. It's in the stars._

_The phantom thief, Skye._

"The Phantom Skye!" Claire swooned. Even Mary had a dreamy look in her eye at the sound of his name.

Pony, however, just smacked the palm of her hand into her forehead. She knew that it was only a matter of time until the thief targeted her. She was the second richest person in Forget Me Not Valley after Romana. Well, she didn't carry any physical money on her after the Murrey incident and all her bank accounts had the tightest security possible. So if Skye thought he was getting any money, the little womanizing punk had another thing coming! Pony couldn't help but feel uneasy, though. How did he know that she was going to the library or Mineral Town for that matter? Had he been watching her this whole time? What if he found out about the sword and the mural pictures? Would he try to steal them too?

"You're so lucky," her cousin sighed, "I wish Phantom Skye would try to steal something from me!"

Claire: The only person in the world who would willingly be robbed.

"Do you have any star charts, Mary?" Pony asked. She would just have to put Skye out of her mind at the moment.

"Certainly," Mary walked over to one of the bookshelves and began to take a few books out. She handed Pony a grand total of five, "Would you like to check these out?"

"Yep."

Mary took the books back and ran their barcodes underneath the scanner at her desk. A receipt printed out and she placed it between the pages of the top book.

"These are due back in four weeks. Enjoy!" she smiled.

"Thank you!" Pony placed four of the books into her ruck sack and flipped through the pages of the first one. She noticed that it was written by someone named, _The Wizard_. She couldn't help but wonder if it was the same one as her brother-in-law. Pony knew that he was an astronomer. She would have to ask Molly sometime.

With a wave goodbye to Mary, Pony and Claire exited the library and began to walk back to the farm. The sun was beginning to set and Pony knew that she should be heading back to the valley soon. She saddled her horse and prepared to leave.

"Don't be a stranger!" Claire waved goodbye, "And tell Skye that I said 'hi' and that I'm single!"

Both rolling her eyes and chuckling, Pony spurred her horse and was soon out of Mineral Town. If she hurried she would be back in Forget Me Not long before the sun completely set. Skye normally didn't strike until after midnight, which would give her plenty of time to reinforce her doors and windows and arm herself. The petty criminal picked the wrong woman to mess with! Her horse ran past the sign that marked the halfway point between the valley and the town.

"Maiden Chick Beam FIRE!" shouted a voice from behind her.

Suddenly, Pony couldn't move. That fact was made even more alarming because her horse still was. She fell off the back of her horse and landed on the ground with a loud THUMP, all the while still frozen in her riding position. She was completely immobile. The only things that could move were her heart and lungs, both of which were working very fast. A roaring pain began to flare up through her back.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you fall. I take it your horse is a male then? No female can resist the power of my Maiden Chick Beam!" A silver head of hair bent down in front of Pony's face.

She internally growled. Skye! She tried to scream obscenities at him, but her mouth was as frozen as the rest of her.

"You're probably wondering why I targeted you," Skye grinned at her, "Well, when I saw that the great and _beautiful _farming prodigy had left her beloved valley, I couldn't help but want to investigate."

Skye disappeared from Pony's sight and she heard the sound of her rucksack zipping open. Pony tried struggling, but the beam he had used on her was too strong. She swore if she ever ran into him again, she would kill him.

"Some astronomy books? How _interesting._ Why would a farmer be interested in space, I wonder?" Skye's voice was both light and slick. Pony wanted to strangle him.

"And a digital camera!" he continued, "I bet this will answer a few of my questions. I'll take it!"

Pony heard the sound of her rucksack being zipped closed again. Skye's face was in front of her soon after.

"This has been an educational experience, my darling Pony, but I'm afraid I must be going now. The spell should ware off in a few minutes." He left her vision and she could hear him walking away, "We'll meet again soon. It's in the stars!"

Minutes later, Pony could feel motion slowly returning to her body. Her body still writhed from where she fell, from both the mine and her horse and she knew that she was going to be nothing but one large bruise the next morning. Suddenly, she felt hot breath on her face. Pony looked up to see her horse nuzzling her hair. Grapping the reins, she slowly pulled herself up, fire exploding through her muscles. She was soon on her way back to the valley. The camera may have been gone, but she still had the star charts.

There was one more mine left for Pony to explore.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Once again, I apologize for any grammar mistakes. : ) This chapter is actually a combination of three separate chapters that I felt were too short on their own. You can probably figure out where the breaks are.**

Chapter 9

Gale was running.

Everyone was. All around him people were screaming in mass panic. The world was dark and nobody could see what they were running from. They only knew that down in the depths of their souls that this thing would end their lives. Gale kept silent as he ran. He was more concerned with trying to see through the darkness, to know what was causing this. People bumped into him and he bumped into others. The darkness and utter bedlam it caused seemed to go on forever.

Suddenly, like a light switch being turned on, he could see. Instead of seeing what humanoid eyes would process as the world, however, he saw something almost alien. The world was still dark, but he could see the outlines of people running around. Inside the outlines were ones and zeroes. Green ones and zeroes running around a black background. There were outlines of trees, rocks, and other such things dotting the landscape too. Each was filled with the numbers, like crayon scribbles inside a coloring book.

Gale stopped running and looked down at his hands. He was formed of ones and zeroes too. He ran again, his eyes darting everywhere. There had to be a reason for all of this. There just had to! He had to find it. The screams of the people he passed propelled him forward.

Smack! He ran into a wall. This wall was different. It wasn't made of numbers. It was translucent, but Gale couldn't see what was on the other side. He banged his fists against it. It felt like a pane of glass that was too thick to break. He tried to anyway. He had to escape from this world of numbers. He had to free the people that were screaming within.

Choke! He suddenly couldn't breathe. It felt like there was water rushing into his nose and mouth, drowning him, but there wasn't any water anywhere. He gagged, gasping for air…

And woke up.

It had been a vision in the form of a dream. This time he was sure of it. Ones and zeroes? Who knew that numbers would be the monsters that would plague his nightmares?

Gale couldn't go back to sleep right away. He needed to calm down first. He slid out of bed, taking extra care not to disturb Molly, and went outside. The stars were shining brightly against a clear sky. Their presence alone helped to calm him down a little. He decided to go look through his telescope and catalog some stars. It had been a while since he wrote his last astronomy book. A few minutes later he sat in front of his telescope and put his eye up to the glass.

Some of the stars seemed a little…off. Not by billions of light-years by any means, but still off enough that anyone who professionally studied them would notice. Gale sat back and pondered this. It could have just been a simple miscalculation on his part. The angle of the planet changed by very slight degrees every year after all, which would put the stars in different parts of the sky. It was very likely that he had just done the math wrong. He went to his desk to check his notes. Eventually weariness came over him and he fell asleep with his head wedged between his papers.

Vivi could feel the environment ready itself for the change coming. Could it be that Gale could see the stars?

O/O

Sixty-five thousand, five-hundred, and thirty-five floors.

That's how big Forget Me Not Valley's fourth and final mine was and Pony was almost at the bottom of it. Her head swirled and her body shuddered with agonizing pain and exhaustion. Time was irrelevant in the deep abyss. She could have been down there for hours or days, her secluded trek only occasionally interrupted by a walkie-talkie message from Carter and Flora to make sure that she was alright. She would always answer, "yes," of course. There was work to do and mysteries to be solved. Pony couldn't afford to be weak. With a gulp of bodigizer, she descended another floor.

There was a large, purple bruise that now blanketed Pony's entire back from her encounter with Skye the night before. Nobody knew about it but her. When she returned to the valley she had stopped by the excavation site to drop off the astronomy books before heading back to her house. She had to sleep on her stomach that night. Carter had yet to gather any new information about the mural and still had his nose deep into one of the books as far as Pony knew. He had also yet to learn anything about the sword or the tablet that came with it. It was their hope that a clue to both finds could be found at the bottom of the last mine.

It was strangely quiet the closer Pony got to what she hoped would be the final floors. The bugs had stopped buzzing and even the echoes of her steps were deafened by the silence. Her mind was a haze. She couldn't comprehend the eeriness of the stillness, nor could she see the hundreds of scarlet eyes that watched her in wait. There was only one thing on her mind. Get to the bottom. Get to the bottom.

The final sixty-fifth thousand, five-hundred, and thirty-fifth floor was unspectacular, but Pony was too far into a semi unconsciousness state to be upset. She stumbled, wobbling back and forth as she searched the room. No murals, no weaponry, no tablets, and no cursed farming tools. She shrugged to herself. This mine was a bust.

There was a sliver of a glimmer in the far corner. Maybe it wasn't a total bust.

Pony stumbled to the corner and fell to her knees. The object was small and round. She picked it up and ran her thumb across it and felt an indent the shape of a rainbow. After adjusting the beam of light from her miner's hat, she could see that it was rainbow colored as well. Was it an ancient coin, perhaps? A talisman? A worthless trinket? Whatever it was, Pony threw it into her rucksack and used the wall to pull her up. She turned around.

And came face to face with herself.

Pony blinked. In the shadows stood a mirror of herself, her eyes glowing crimson, her mouth grinning wickedly, her ponytail parted perfectly in two. Pony felt a rush of air.

And then there was blackness.

O/O

For the second time that week, Pony awakened to the sight of Doctor Hardy's ceiling.

The light burned her eyes. She gasped and closed them again.

"Doc, she's awake!" the sound of Rock's voice bellowed into her ear drums.

"Aug!" Pony's head was pounding.

"Give her some space, boy," she could hear Hardy say softly, but still agonizingly loud with her headache.

"Wha-What happened?" she whispered.

Doctor Hardy put a cooled compress on her head. Slowly, it began to numb the pounding.

"You really need to stop over exerting yourself," he began as he pulled up a chair beside her cot, "Without time to repair itself your body can become brittle."

"See! I told you work way too much, Pony!" said Rock.

She ignored him.

Hardy continued, "Carter and Flora found you collapsed at the bottom of a very deep mine. The trip there and back wore them out too. They're actually in the other two beds. You need to stop doing these things, Miss Harvester! You're starting to put other people in danger as well!"

"Did they see another me down there?" Pony's voice was tired and slurred.

"Pardon?"

"Never mind. It was probably just…a dream…"

"Now, go back to sleep. I'm going to make sure that you don't leave this clinic until your health is fully recovered."

Pony was too weak to object. She closed her eyes and let sleep overcome her once again.

When Pony woke up again, she was in her house.

"Morning, Pony! What would you like for breakfast?" Flora's voice called over from the kitchen.

It only took a moment for Pony to register the deadly implications of Flora making breakfast. She was out of her bed and by her stove in three seconds flat. Her stove was turned off even quicker. It took another moment for Pony to think about the odd implications of Flora being in her house.

"Flora, what are you doing here?"

"Injecting you with painkillers, mostly. Dr. Hardy asked for someone to be your nurse maid and I volunteered! Well, technically Rock raised his hand first, but nobody wanted to trust him with a syringe."

Pony pulled out a chair from her kitchen table and sat in it with a groan.

"You know," she sighed as she slowly rubbed her forehead, "I think I've caused myself more physical pain in this past week than most people do in their entire lives."

Flora chuckled and sat in the chair across from Pony's, "I think you're just about to give the ol' doc a mental break down. He practically banged his head against the wall when the professor and I carried you into his office yesterday!"

"That's right. He said something about you guy's having to rescue me…I'm sorry about that. If I have learned anything the past few days, it should be what my limits are."

"Don't be sorry! It serves us right for sending you off to do our jobs anyway! The trek sure was tiring, though. Sixty-five thousand, five-hundred, and thirty-five floors! Who could've imagined? "

"Ugh! I know! Which reminds me…" Pony stood up and went to fetch her rucksack. She found it in the corner, completely covered in dust. She unzipped it and coughed as some of the dirt dispersed into the air. Her hand dug around until it felt the small, round object. Pony handed the medal to Flora.

Pushing her glasses up her nose with one hand, Flora held it up to the light with the other. The rainbow colors glistened and glimmered and sent spectrums of colorful light disco-balling around the farmhouse.

"I found it in that last floor," Pony explained, "Is it anything important?"

"Hmm. It's hard to say really. There are no markings on it other than the little rainbow shape. It looks like it's made of goddess ore, which is more common in the areas around Flower Bud village, but is still very rare," Flora flipped the medallion over a few times, "It doesn't look like any ancient currency I've ever studied, so I don't think it's a coin. Maybe it belonged to whoever owned the sword? From what I've been able to gather the sword was forged with goddess ore too. Whoever owned these must have been very important."

"So maybe the mines are this person's tomb?"

"That's what Professor Carter seems to think. I'm not so sure, though. After all, you didn't see signs of human remains while you were down there, did you?"

"No, but I did miss a bunch of floors in the third mine when I fell, remember?"

"That's true," Flora scratched her head, "The professor did say something about searching that mine more thoroughly while I'm off searching for Calvin…" Flora suddenly got a dreamy look on her face.

Pony was taken back.

"Wait…what? Off searching for who now?" she asked.

Flora was snapped back into reality. Blushing, she stared down at the table and started to trace a wood grain with her finger.

"Err…Calvin Carson. He's an old colleague of mine from back in archeology school. He specializes in ancient languages and symbols. He's one of the best in the field actually. The professor and I think he would be the best bet in deciphering the mural and the stone you found with the sword."

Pony looked at Flora's blushing face and couldn't help but grin, "So…He was JUST your colleague, huh?"

Surprised, Flora looked up, "Oh, no, no, no! It was nothing like that! I don't think he would've been interested in a girl like me anyway! Calvin's just so…" she sighed and stared off into the distance again, "You'll understand when you see him…"

"When I see him? What do you mean?"

Once again, Flora was snapped back into attention, "Opps! Silly me, going about this all backwards! I wanted to ask if you'd like to come with me to find him. I could use the help and the company."

Pony looked out the window forlornly. It had been so long since she had left Forget Me Not Valley for an extended period of time. She couldn't just leave her farm and all the responsibilities that came with it. The very thought of it made her stomach jump.

"I don't know, Flora…"

"Please, Pony? Dr. Hardy isn't going to let you out of anybody's sight for a while anyway and I could really use the help. You could stand to take a little vacation and you'd be advancing the field of archeology in the process."

Wincing at the term _vacation_, Pony stood up and walked outside to look at her fields. Flora followed her. As usual, Jack had done his job spectacularly. The pit in her stomach helped Pony remember that she still wasn't fully comfortable in just leaving the machine alone with her land, though.

"What about Carter?" Pony asked, "Won't he need my help searching through the rest of the third mine? Someone of his age shouldn't be risking perilous falls. He could break a hip or something."

Flora laughed, "Oh! The professor isn't THAT old! Your spelunking days are over anyway, missy. The doctor made us promise! Although…" she pushed up her glasses and looked at the shipping bin where Jack stood, waiting for Mayor Thomas to pick up the shipments, "…I did notice that you have a little hubot helper. I watched him do your chores earlier. Very efficient. I was thinking that you could maybe tell him to help out the professor after he finishes the farm work. I figure that would be better than risking anymore human lives?"

"You may have a point there," Pony sighed.

"So, would you like to come with me?"

Struggling, Pony tried to think up more reasons to stay in the valley but came up empty. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how curious she was about the strange things she had found in the mines. It might be kind of fun to help unravel their mysteries first hand. And she would still be keeping busy and wouldn't stand the risk of falling back into her old, sloth filled ways.

"When do we leave and how long will we be gone?" she asked.

"Yay!" Flora hugged her and Pony patted her head awkwardly, "I want to leave early tomorrow morning and the trip shouldn't take longer than two weeks. This is going to be so much fun!" Flora released her and ran towards the exit to the farmland, beckoning for Pony to follow, "We have so much to do! Come on! First we have to get you more meds from Hardy's, and then we should get some supplies from Mineral Town..."

What had Pony gotten herself into? With a shake of her head, Pony ran after Flora. Jack tipped his hat to her as she passed him.

And so the two women spent the rest of the day gathering supplies and preparing for their journey.

O/O

Pony adjusted her rucksack before taking one last look at Forget-Me-Not Valley. The valley was still dark and the only light came from the setting moon and the stars that were slowly blinking out one by one. It was five AM and most of the world was still asleep. Flora had said that they needed to get an early start on their journey. They had already been up for an hour already, making final preparations. Jack was going to have total control of the farm now, a thought that made Pony cringe, and was going to help Carter with the dig.

With a yawn, Flora led the way as she and Pony left the valley and started walking down the well-worn path to the crossroads. She adjusted her rucksack as well. She carried the stone tablet and copies of the mural along with a sleeping bag, food, and other various supplies. Pony carried the sword, a sleeping bag of her own, and her doctor prescribed medication. None of it was heavy, but still made Pony wonder…

"…So why couldn't we bring my horse?" she asked.

"Our first stop is going to be the Archeology Guild, so I can figure out where Calvin was last studying. I didn't think it would be very safe to bring a horse into the city," Flora yawned again.

"The city?" Pony gulped at the memory of her last visit there, "I used to live there as a kid."

"You and Rock also use to sneak off to the clubs there on a regular basis, if I remember correctly," Flora laughed, "It's been a while since I've been there myself. Years, actually. It was always farther ahead technology wise than the towns were, but now with things like hubots, I wouldn't be surprised with we get into a flying taxi later!"

"I don't think it will have changed _that _much."

The two traveled in almost silence for a few hours. Occasionally Flora would hum to herself or sing a little half-song. The sun had completely risen by seven and the tall skyscrapers of the city were beginning to rise in the distance. It would still be another several hours until they arrived.

"So, Pony, what's your story?" Flora asked as they walked.

"What do you mean?" Pony looked up from the dirt road to face Flora.

"What was your childhood like? What brought you to the valley? Why don't you and Rock hang out anymore?"

Pony raised a questioning eyebrow at the last one.

"What? Did you think that nobody else would notice when you ditched him? It was all Muffy and Lumina would talk about for weeks!"

"It would figure that Muffy of all people would spy on me…" Pony sighed as she kicked a stray pebble with her shoe.

It was Flora's turn to raise a questioning eyebrow.

"Muffy's my aunt and let's just say my family has always been a little too…_interested _in matters of my life."

"Muffy's your AUNT?!" Flora gawked, "Tell. Me. Story. Now."

Pony sighed again and crossed her hands behind her neck, "There really isn't much to tell. The farm has been in my family for generations and when my Great Grandfather Mark owned it, he married a woman named Muffy. Our Muffy and I are just both descended from them."

"Now that you mention it, I think that most everyone in the valley were named after their ancestors. The professor had a grandfather Carter, I had a great grandma Flora…They all had the same jobs too. It's very weird to think about."

"Indeed."

Flora pushed her glasses up her nose, "Sooo…what else?"

"You really don't want to hear the story of my life, do you?" Pony groaned.

"Of course I do! You've matured a lot since you first came to Forget-Me-Not and I'm curious about how you got from here to there!" Flora gave a warm smile.

Pony hesitated. Most off her life story wasn't one that she would be proud to tell, but she also knew that Flora wouldn't give her a rest until she had at least came partially clean.

"Well, if you must know," Pony rubbed her forehead as she began, "I was actually born on the farm back when my father, John, owned it. I don't remember anything about it, but my older sister, Molly, told me some stories. My father passed away when I was barely a year old and my mom, Sara, packed me and Molly up and moved to the city. She wanted to run the farm, but…she just couldn't. Not alone with two little girls to raise…It-it took me years to understand that and my ignorance made me say things that I'll always wish that I could take back," some tears began to form in Pony's eyes, but she pushed them back.

She continued, "I grew up to be as stereotypical as a city girl could get. Dirt appalled me and I was so prissy and…Ugh! I was so spoiled. It wasn't even my mother's fault! I was just a natural born brat! I was always so relieved that Molly was born first and would inherent the farm, because how could I stand to survive without my precious shopping malls and my exclusive clubs!" Pony's voice rose as she mocked herself, "But when Molly turned eighteen, a Harvest Sprite flew into our apartment and carried her away to Castanet, where she still is to this day."

"Did you just say…Harvest Sprite?" Flora raised her eyebrows.

"You're the one that wanted to hear this story. So, anyway, the farm fell to me and Pony-brat was not happy. I fought it for as long as I could and my mother was so nice about it. She gave me the chance to find my way, basically. To choose my own life. Unfortunately, I chose to party every night. My mom was concerned and sent Takakura to collect me. She told me to at least just give farming a chance…"Pony paused. Tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"I-I told her off, Flora," she wiped away some tears, "I called my own mother every swear in the book and called her a hypocrite for not taking the farm over herself. I-I told her that I never wanted to see her again…"

Pony looked up forlornly at the sky before saying the next words.

"I never did. She died about a year ago."

The two women walked in silence for several miles. Flora handed Pony a tissue and decided to not question her anymore. But the flood gates were open and Pony had a whole lot of guilt she needed to let out.

"As for Rock," Pony winced, "I think it's partially my fault he is the way he is. He was just turning eighteen when I first arrived and he was just so damn impressionable! I think I corrupted him. I basically told him it was awesome to be a lazy bum and dragged him with me to the clubs…and, this makes me gag so much to admit, I was possessive of him. I didn't want him around any other girls, but I never told him that I was attracted to him, because I wanted _him _to make the first move, only he never did. And because I was around him constantly, he never got to 'spread his own wings,' so to speak."

"So you and he never dated?" Flora cocked her head, "Everyone just assumed you did."

"Nope. Eternal friend-zone and boy am I grateful for that now! Ugh! Just thinking about those days makes me throw up in my mouth a little," Pony wasn't kidding. She had to stop and spit at the side of the road, "So, then the Harvest King punished the Harvest Goddess, because I was so lazy…"

"…Harvest King? Harvest Goddess?"

"Yes, try to keep up, Flora. And after that…I realized what a brat I had been. I changed my life around and became the extraordinary farmer you know today. Rock, however, still hasn't grown up. He's had plenty of time away from me to realize that what I taught him was wrong. Heck, I even admitted to him that I was wrong! But he still insists on being a lazy freeloader. It pains me to look at him. It's like looking into a mirror of who I would have become if I hadn't eventually found the right path," Pony's face became determined, "And I refuse to be that selfish waste of life ever again."

"Oh, Pony," Flora wistfully sighed as she watched the skyscrapers grow taller the closer they got to the city, "You are still very young. There are still plenty of paths you need to travel."

"Excuse me?"

"You'll understand when you're older. People never stop growing."

"I never said that. I just said that _I've _grown."

"And that you have, but you still have a long way to go."

"Whatever," Pony grumbled, "So what's your life story?"

Flora plucked a flower as she passed it. She sniffed it before she spoke, "Oh, mine isn't as…colorful…as your story is, but if you're curious…" she smiled, "I was born and raised in the city. I've always been fascinated with old tales and legends and figuring out things that happened in the past. So I decided to study archeology. I graduated from the College of Anthropology and was soon employed by the Archeologists Guild. They sent me to assist the professor in Forget-Me-Not, and here we are now."

"So I'm getting the non-Calvin version?"

"Like I said yesterday, Pony, you'll understand when you see him. But, if you want to know, Calvin and I were in the same grade. He was one of those popular boys who always had gaggles of girls around him. And for good reason! He was so handsome! And so smart! He graduated at the top of our class. And he was so nice! He always partnered up with me during class assignments and complimented me on my work…" she let out a blissful sigh and soon Flora was lost in memories. The rest of the trip was spent in silence.

They arrived at the city at eleven AM.

The city was a towering mass of buildings, technology, and people. While they didn't fly there were thousands of cars emitting water vapor into the air. That was new. The last time Pony was in the city, the cars still ran on toxins. The gigantic electronic screens that used to be connected to buildings were now on hover crafts. Across them flashed advertisements for musicals, hubots, shampoo...The fashions had changed too. The trend had been bright neon colors when Pony left and now people were sporting calm pastels. The buildings were still made of brick, mortar, and steel, but now, thanks to hubot hands it seemed, were in much better shape and there were no signs of dilapidation. There were hubots everywhere! Washing high-rise windows, going down into the sewers, pulling food out of ovens. The humans walked past them as if it were completely ordinary and didn't show a shred of _uncanny valley_.

"Wow…" Flora breathed as she took it all in.

Pony just shrugged.

They flagged down a taxi and were soon standing in front of the Guild of Archeology. It was a large marble building complete with rising stairs and tall pillars. It looked out of place and old fashioned among the glassy skyscrapers.

"It's member's only," Flora explained as she climbed the steps, "I'll only be a few minutes! How about you wait at the arcade across the street?"

Pony shrugged again and walked across the street to the arcade. It had been a long time since she had been in one, but it felt familiar and nostalgic just the same. Molly had taken her to arcades all the time when they were young and it invoked memories of her youth that didn't make Pony cringe. She settled for an older looking console that read _Fix It Felix Junior_ and fed it a gold coin through the slot. An eight-bit jingle played and soon she was controlling a little man that fixed buildings as she jumped and avoided the objects thrown by the villain at the top. It made her smile and remember some of the conversations she and Molly use to have about the video games they played. They liked to pretend that the characters were really alive and that the console was their world. "Did they know that they were just video game characters?" they wondered. It was silly to think about now. Felix and the pixelated people were just computer code and would never be truly alive.

Eventually Pony came to a level that was too hard for her to beat and "Game Over" flashed across the screen. She turned to find Flora standing behind her.

"Calvin's in Castanet, just like your sister!" Flora smiled.

Pony smiled too, "That's great! I haven't seen her since her last daughter was born. I can visit her and I'm sure that she and her husband will let us stay with them."

"Awesome, now we just need to go buy some boat tickets and we'll be on our way!"

"Why do we need boat tickets?"

"Isn't Castanet an island?"

Pony groaned and put her palm to her face, "No, and I have NO idea where people get that misconception! Molly traveled there by horse-drawn cart, for the goddess' sake. **You'd think it would be something that people would remember!**"

Flora had no idea why Pony thought that everyone would know how her sister arrived in Castanet, or why she said it with such force, but chose to ignore it, "So why is it called Castanet then if there is a place called _Harmonica Town_ within it? Shouldn't the whole place be called Harmonica Town?"

"That's actually a good question. Castanet is huge and the land is spread across many areas. The town is fairly far away from some of these areas, so the whole community was given a name to encapsulate it all."

"Fascinating."

"It's about a five day walk from here. We better get started."

Pony and Flora bade goodbye to the city and were soon back on the trail.

Their journey had only just started.

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Fix-It Felix Junior**_**. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: It's November! Happy Nanowrimo to everyone participating! And, as always, I apologize for any grammar mistakes. **

Chapter 10

Rock let out the world's biggest yawn as he stumbled out of the Inner Inn at six o'clock in the morning.

The sun peaked over the horizon and his tired, red eyes glanced up to meet the sunrise. He was never up this early and the concept of a sunrise was almost foreign to him. The birds tweeted loudly around him and the air felt cooler than what he was used to. Rock clutched his jacket closer to him, happy that he remembered to bring it with him despite his dazed mind. Crawling out of bed that early had nearly killed him and he was already finding himself falling asleep where he stood. Rock tried his best to shake the stupor off and started walking towards Pony's farm.

Normally Rock would never dream of getting up this early, but today he was on a mission. He knew that Pony made a habit of getting up at the butt crack of dawn and he just had to know how she was able to do that inhuman amount of work she did every day. Before ten no less! Not to mention that she was sure to be impressed at the fact that Rock was able to get up so early to see her! Who would she call lazy now?! Ha!

As for the other insults she often called Rock…well, there was nothing he could do about _Free Loader_. The lifestyle he had chosen forbade him from getting a job and the thought of getting one anyway made him shudder. He would have to live with his mother until he was married. Which brought him to his other 'nickname;' _Playboy_. He had to admit that he was awful flirty with every woman he came across in the past, but no more! If it meant that he and Pony could be best friends again, he would stick to only one woman. And the woman he had chosen was Lumina, who, unfortunately, didn't seem too keen on him either. Oh well, he would woo her eventually. After all, who could resist Rock? Other than Pony apparently…

Yawning again, Rock tried for the millionth time to figure out what it was that made Pony go from being the best friend he ever had to being the person who hated him more than anyone else in the world. When Pony had first moved to Forget-Me-Not Valley four years earlier she had been a really chill chick. Being the cool people they were, she and Rock instantly connected. She had even been the one to inspire him to lead a laidback lifestyle. It had been her way of life too. She refused to work on the farm that her family had forced upon her and instead chose to forge her own path. And that path meant doing fun things, like partying, and napping, and just laying around watching TV.

And she just suddenly changed overnight. Literally. She and Rock celebrated New Year's Day by partying the night away and the next morning she came to him in hysterics. Waving a note she said that was from the Harvest King around and saying that it was her fault that the Harvest Goddess had been turned to stone, and that she had to change her ways right away and work on the farm until she died. She had enlisted him in helping her, and good friend that he was, he tried. He truly and honestly tried. But in the end, work and he just didn't mix. Pony hadn't seemed to mind that at first though. When he was unable to till fields she started sending him on odd tasks. Looking under tree stumps, checking the insides of seashells at the beach…He didn't know what he was looking _for _as he did it, but he looked anyway.

Eventually, Pony just started pushing him away. She pushed everyone away, if he wanted to be technical. But he kept coming to see her anyway. Her mind was in distress and as her friend, he had to help her. There wasn't much he could do when the door was slammed in his face and eventually his visits dwindled down. But he continued to try. They would be friends again if it were the last thing he ever did.

Rock arrived at Harvester Farm at six fifteen. He took one look at the shipping box and knew that much work had been done already. It was bursting with vegetables. Rock just shook his head and looked to the left. What he saw surprised him. Standing in the middle of Pony's fields was a strange man he had never seen before. He was busy watering her strawberries. Rock walked toward him and the sound made the man look up.

It took one quick look at this man's face to make Rock jump back. What was wrong with it?! It was all weird and plastic and the dude's eyes were like cameras with odd floaty thingies above them. His joints had screws in them and his bangs just hovered above his face! _How did it do that?!_

"Good morning, sir," the man bowed at Rock, "I am called Jack. What is your name?"

"Uhh…" It took Rock a moment to find his voice, "I'm Rock…"

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rock. What brings you to Miss Pony's farm today?"

Where had this guy come from? Did he do some of the farm work? Rock had never seen him in the valley before.

"Are you Pony's… uhh…farmhand?" Rock asked.

"Negative. I am Miss Pony's Hubot, a mechanical creation of the Future Tech Company. However, I do assist Miss Pony in running her farm and later I am to assist Mr. Carter in archeological studies."

Rock broke out of his stupor.

"Wait. You're a machine? That's so cool, dude!" Rock began to circle Jack in awe. A mechanical person? What would they think of next?

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Rock. How may I help you today?"

Remembering why he was there, Rock asked, "I came to visit Pony. Is she in the barn or something?"

"That is a negative. Miss Pony will not be able to receive your visit for some time, I'm afraid. She and Miss Flora left at five o'clock this morning in order to go to the city. They are searching for a Mr. Calvin who may be able to decode the objects Miss Pony found in the mine."

Gone. Pony had left without telling him. Rock sat with his back against a tree and sulked. What else was new? People liked to leave him all the time without saying goodbye.

People like his father…

Rock shook his head and refused to think about it. Instead he watched as Jack continued his work. It was quite amazing. He moved across the fields at lightning speeds, a blue and tan blur as he watered crops. The animal duties were handled much slower because of the animal's limitations, but were still handled quite quickly. Jack was done by seven.

"Wow, dude! That was amazing!" Rock gaped.

Jack tipped his hat to him, "Thank you again for the compliment, Mr. Rock. My farming duties would have been completed much sooner if we had not partaken in conversation."

"I guess I'm sorry for slowing you down then."

"There is no need to be apologetic. I do not start my mining duties until ten. I would have had enough time to complete my farming duties no matter."

Fully awake as he was now, Rock needed something to do with his time. He got an idea.

"Hey, Jack, want to hang out until ten?"

Jack's processors whirred, "As a hubot, I cannot answer questions of opinion. I am programed to obey human orders."

Rock shrugged. "Okay. Jack, hang out with me until ten."

"Acknowledged. What is it you would like to do, Mr. Rock?"

"Wanna watch TV?"

"I cannot answer questions of opinion."

"Then let's go watch TV."

Rock went inside Pony's house, since she owned the only television in the village, and Jack followed. Pony's cat and dog looked up with disinterest at their two visitors before going back to sleep. Rock grabbed a bag of chips out of the kitchen and started flipping through the channels. Jack stared at the screen, as that was what he had been told to do. Rock finally settled on a movie.

"_Rune Factory 4_!" Rock exclaimed as he bit into a chip, "I hope it's as good as the first three!"

And so Rock and Jack watched the adventures of Lest the Earthmate and his quest to protect the village of Selphia.

When the movie ended, Jack just kept staring at the screen.

"Mr. Rock, the people of Selphia kept calling Mr. Lest a 'hero.' What is a 'hero?'" Jack asked as his camera lens eyes scanned across a cereal commercial.

Rock was taken back. He never would've expected such a question from the hubot.

"Well, I guess a hero is somebody who puts the needs of others before their own. Like, Lest risked his life in order to save Ventiswill." Rock shrugged.

"Hero…" Jack continued to stare at the screen.

"Oh, look!" A certain commercial caught Rock's eye, "They're making movies about hubots already! _Innocent Life_?" I bet that will be good!"

Jack looked up from the television screen abruptly. He tipped his hat to Rock.

"It is nearing ten o'clock, Mr. Rock. I must be on my way to the mine. It was a pleasure 'hanging out' with you," he got up to leave.

Rock got up too, "Hey, this party doesn't have to end! I'll come with you to the mine. I'm kinda curious about the strange things Pony found down there myself!"

And so the man and the hubot journeyed to the mine. When they stepped out of the farming area, they received some rather odd stares from the other people on the road. Most of the valley folk hadn't seen Jack yet and Rock took it upon himself to explain the situation. Most just shrugged their shoulders, while a few others scoffed at the idea of "mechanical people."

Carter was waiting outside his tent when they arrived.

"Aw, you must be Jack!" he greeted when he saw them, "And still tagging along for the archeological experience, eh, Rock?"

"Hey, I long as I don't have to dig any holes or do any manual labor of any kind, archeology is right up my alley!" Rock laughed.

"You must be Professor Carter," Jack bowed, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir."

Carter circled Jack for a moment, like Rock had done earlier, studying him.

"Fascinating, truly fascinating," Carter pushed his glasses up his nose, "Makes me wish that I minored in computer sciences. Our civilization has come so far! From painting in underground tombs, to building mechanical likenesses of ourselves! Simply marvelous!"

"Thank you for the compliment, professor."

"Just to warn, you, Jack here is very formal," Rock explained, giving the hubot a friendly nudge as he did so.

"I'll keep that in mind!" Carter let out a hearty laugh.

"So what mining related duties do you wish me to perform," Jack asked.

Heading towards the entrance to the mine, Carter motioned for them to follow. They went inside and Rock took note of the open astronomy books in the corner and the photos of the strange mural scattered around them. Had Carter come any closer in decoding them? Carter stopped in front of the third mine.

"Jack, I need you to search this mine for anything Pony may have missed. Everything from the two-hundredth and fifty-fourth floor down is still a complete mystery to us. There may be some booby traps on these floors, like the one Pony activated, so be careful," he handed him a walkie talkie, "Radio us if you find anything. Rock and I will lower a rope down if you need anything."

"Rock will do what now?" Rock raised an eyebrow.

"In the absence of my precious Flora, you get to be my assistant, boy."

"But I don't like to work!" he whined.

"Hey, it isn't digging holes!"

Rock grumbled, a little mad that he had gotten himself roped into this. He shrugged inwardly. Maybe it would be fun? Like a little adventure.

"Duties acknowledged. I will see you gentlemen soon," Jack tipped his hat and entered the mine.

"So, _precious _Flora?" Rock wiggled his eye brows.

O/O

Jack's censors indicated that he was approaching the two-hundredth and fifty-fourth floor that Professor Carter specified. The night vision function installed in his eyes allowed him to see each floor of the mine with perfect clarity. He snapped pictures of everything with his eyes and stored them in the memory unit located in his head compartment. The professor hadn't specified what he was to be searching for so he made sure to make note of every rock, gem, and illogical humming bug, to be data mined later. He also noted that the foundations of many floors were weak and that somebody near or equal to his weight could easily cause the dirt to buckle. Miss Pony should have sent him down here in the first place instead of braving the mines herself and Professor Carter was wise to send him now. The first rule of hubotics was, "Keep humans safe." Better he fall and permanently lose function then a human.

When he came upon the two-hundredth and fifty-fourth floor, Jack's eyes quickly noted the rather large hole that Miss Pony created when she sprung the trap and fell. He also quickly noted the staircase just beyond it. His metal joints propelled him forward at a brisk pace and he was soon on the two-hundredth and fifty-fifth floor of the third mine.

The floor was devoid of rocks, gems, or insects. Instead there was a large stone door on the far wall. The door was covered in writing. Jack searched inside his data files, but he hadn't been installed with any knowledge of the language. He reasoned that this must be what Professor Carter was searching for.

"Professor Carter, I have found a large stone door. Would you like me to investigate further?" Jack radioed.

"Yes, Jack, "Carter radioed back.

"Acknowledged," Jack holstered the walkie talkie and began to push on the door.

Eons of dust dispersed into the air as the stone wedges were slowly pushed open. It took much of Jack's processing power to even to get it to open at that speed. It would have been impossible for any team of humans to open. The ancient humans who created and placed the doors simply did not want anyone to see what was on the other side.

Jack wasn't under their orders.

With a mighty heave, the way was finally opened. Centuries of dust floated in front of the light coming out of Jack's eyes. They were grew and shrank like camera lenses trying to process what they saw in the room. Illogical. It was simply illogical.

In the center of the room lay a human woman, sleeping on top of a bed.

Her chest rose and fell, indicating that she was indeed still very much alive and breathing. Jack picked up the walkie and radioed Carter.

"Professor Carter, there was a human woman on the other side of the door."

"A corpse?" Carter's voice came through the static, "That proves my theory that this is indeed a burial mine!"

"That is a negative, Professor Carter. The woman is alive."

"What did you say, Jack? I must have misheard."

"The woman is alive."

"Are you sure?"

"That is a positive. The woman is breathing."

There was a pause on Carter's end.

"Professor?"

"Bring her up here, Jack. I…won't believe until I see her…"

"Acknowledged."

Jack walked up to the sleeping woman.

There was a spark in his chest compartment when he saw her.

She had long ebony hair. _Flowing_ was the term a human would have used. A blue and red patterned headband held some of the hair back from her rosy, sleeping face. She wore a long dress that looked like it was spun out of pure gold. Logically, she looked like a princess. Humans would have called her…

…Beautiful.

Jack picked her up slowly, taking care not to disturb her slumber. The climb back to the top of the mine was even slower. Jack now had to be even more cautious in avoiding falls. She was human and it was his duty to protect her no matter what. He looked in equal parts around the floors and at her sleeping face. He held her closer to his chest compartment to shield her from any falling debris'. Soon he could see natural light and the stunned faces of Professor Carter and Mr. Rock greeting him.

"You were right," Professor Carter gaped.

"She's _hot…_" Mr. Rock whispered.

"I suggest we take her to a physician to check her vitals," Jack said.

"Y-yes. That's a good idea, Jack. We should get her to Dr. Hardy's immediately," Carter led the way.

Soon they were all at the doctor's. Doctor Hardy ran tests on the woman for several hours. The results just made him shake his head in wonder.

"I've never seen anyone so physically healthy. This just boggles all medical science." The doctor laid his papers down on his table.

"I-I don't even know what to think," Professor Carter stuttered, "Think of all the things she could tell us! The- the answer to all of the past's mysteries could be right in front of us!"

"Should we try to wake her up?" Mr. Rock asked.

They didn't need to, for the woman chose that very moment to wake.

Her dark brown eyes fell on Jack immediately. They widened, as if in shock and she reached out to touch his face. She smiled, tears running down her face. She moved her lips, as if she were speaking, but no sound came out. Her hands shot to her throat and she tried to speak again. She couldn't make a single noise. The others in the room just watched her, Jack included.

The woman's eyes darted around the room and she spotted a white board with dry erase markers. She grabbed them and began to write furiously. It was in the same language that was on the door.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we can't read that," Carter explained.

The woman threw her hands into the air and slouched in defeat. She seemed receptive to Professor Carter's words.

"Can you understand our dialogue, miss?" Jack asked.

The woman nodded.

"If someone were to tell me to do it, I could try to decipher her language with my computing unit. It would take some time, though."

"Do whatever you can, Jack," Professor Carter nodded.

"Acknowledged."

"I guess if you'll be studying her, she can stay at Miss Harvester's place then," the doctor reasoned.

"I don't think Pony would like that very much…"Rock muttered.

"It sounds like a plan," the professor said.

Jack led the woman to the farmland.

Jack's processors never would have computed what was in store for him.


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's Note: Here's to another week, guys!_

Chapter 11

The journey from the city to Castanet was pretty uneventful for Pony and Flora. The weather stayed calm and cloudless for the most part and they slept underneath the stars. It rained on the third night and the women took shelter at an inn in a little town called Bluebell. While there Pony had a delightful conversation with a fellow farmer named Philip. When they were out on the road, Pony sometimes thought she saw a few Harvest sprites ducking into the bushes. She waved to them, but they never responded. When they stopped to make camp, Flora always volunteered to cook, but Pony would always jump in and convince her to let her cook instead. Garmon Mountain came into their view a few days before they arrived and it grew on the horizon like a giant the closer that they came to it. Forests turned to meadows and soon Pony and Flora found themselves at the gate that led to Flute Fields, and by extension, Castanet.

A broad shouldered man looked up from the cow he was brushing and saw them standing there.

"Why, hello there, ladies!" he called out to them, "What brings you to Castanet?" He stopped and looked at Pony for a moment, "You look familiar. Aren't you related to Molly?"

"I'm her sister," Pony explained, "I think we met the last time I was here. Isn't your name Cain?"

"Yes it is. Now I remember you! You're the one who runs that farm in Forget Me Not Valley. There have been several articles about you published in _Farming Monthly._"

"I do my best."

Flora cleared her throat.

"This is my friend, Flora," Pony motioned, "We've actually come to see if there is a man named Calvin studying here."

"Hello," Flora waved.

"Calvin," Cain thought for a minute, "Yeah, that's the fellow who hangs out at the mines all the time. Here, let me let you ladies in." He dug through his pockets and pulled out a key ring. The gate was quickly unlocked. "Enjoy your stay in Castanet!"

"We will!" they waved goodbye to Cain as Pony walked towards Molly's farmland. Flora followed.

"Huh?" Flora scratched behind her head, "It's kinda weird that they keep the road sealed off like that."

Pony just shrugged.

Pride and glee jumped into Pony's throat when they finally arrived at Molly's ranching district. Molly's farm was coming along very well. She had three fields filled to the brim with vegetables and had several prize animals gazing around. She even had a watermill all to herself. Pony just stared at it all in awe for a moment.

"Pony?" a voice gasped from behind them, "Baby sister, is that you?"

With a quick spin, Pony found herself face to face with her older sister.

"Molly!" Pony leapt into her arms for a hug, which really surprised Flora because she knew that Pony wasn't a hugger.

"Oh, Pony! I'm so glad you're here," Molly hugged her tightly and a few tear drops fell from her eyes to land atop her sister's ponytail, "T-there's so much I need to tell you. S-stella…is…"

"What happened to Stella?" Pony pushed away to look at her sister's face.

"I'll tell you at my house. Who's your friend?"

"Hi, my name is Flora," Flora shook Molly's hand, "It's so nice to finally meet you! Pony's told me so much about you! I'm here on archeological business. Do you know where I can find Calvin?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Flora," Molly shook back, "Calvin's probably at the mines with Phoebe and Owen. You follow the path left of my house to get there."

"Great, Pony and I will head there after you guys catch up!"

"Let's go inside and I'll put on some tea."

Pony and Flora followed Molly into the small farmhouse. The inside was as cozy as Pony remembered and they sat at the table as Molly selected some teabags to brew.

"Are you my Auntie Pony?" a small voice asked from Pony's side.

"Chrystal?" Pony looked to see her young niece staring at her with wide eyes and clutching her teddy bear, "Oh, look how big you've gotten!" Pony picked her up and swung her around in a circle.

"Weeee!" Chrystal cheered.

Pony hugged her and held her up to her face, "You've got my purple eyes! That's pretty rare, so feel proud of them kiddo!"

"Okay!" Chrystal held up her teddy bear, "Da-chan says, 'hi,' and wants to know how things are going in the valley."

"Chrystal just loves that thing," Molly explained as she sat down three cups of steaming hot herbal tea, "What do you say to Auntie Pony for giving you Da-chan?"

"Thank you! And Da-chan wants to say thank you for busting him out of there!"

"What an imagination," Molly giggled, "Although I do wonder sometimes where you found him."

"Oh," Pony sipped her tea, "I just found him lying on the side of the side of the road one day. It didn't belong to any of the children who lived in the valley, so I decided to send it here. After washing it first, of course. Where's your husband?"

"Wizard? He's off working at his observatory right now. He saw something odd in the stars a few days ago and has been doing calculations ever since."

"Your husband's name is 'Wizard?'" Flora asked with a curious tilt of her head.

"It's…just what he likes to be called."

"So, where's Stella? And that little sprite of your's, for that matter?" Pony traced the rim of her tea cup.

"Again, with the sprites," Flora muttered.

Molly stared out her window for a minute or two, her eyes misting over. She wiped them before answering, "She and Finn left to go on a quest for the Harvest Goddess. They were supposed to deliver a seedling to a place called _Waffle Island_. It's been nine days now. I'm so worried! What if something happened?"

Pony stood out of her seat to hug and comfort her sister, "There, there, Molls. The Harvest Goddess wouldn't let anything happen to them. We just need to keep our faith in her."

"You're right, Pony, I know you are. But still, a mother can't help but worry."

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Pony was worried too. Nine days really was a long time for her niece to be gone. The sprites also went missing nine days earlier. She knew that the two events were probably in no way related, but it still made her wonder about the coincidence. What were the deities and the sprites up to? Pony knew it wasn't her place to ask such questions, but she was only human, and humans are curious creatures.

Molly wiped her eyes, "So, why do you guys need to see Calvin?"

Pony and Flora took turns explaining what had been uncovered within Forget Me Not Valley's mine. Molly's eyes sparkled when they showed her the sword and they nearly popped out of her head when she saw the pictures of the mural.

"We should show Wizard these! Stars and planets are his thing!" she said as she traced the lines that weaved across the stars in the mural.

"That's actually a really good idea!" Pony took another sip of her tea, "One of the books I came across at Mineral Town's library was written by him."

"How about you show them to him during dinner?" Molly collected the now empty tea cups and carried them to the sink, "I imagine you two are ready to go see Calvin now. Let me know what all he says! I'm pretty curious about this mystery myself now!"

Pony and Flora said good bye to Molly and Chrystal and started walking to the Garmon Mine district. The closer they got, the more fidgety Flora became. She patted down her hair, fiddled with her glasses, and cleaned her fingernails. Pony couldn't stop thinking about Stella. The news of her niece's disappearance had really put a damper on the whole trip. Mount Garmon towered above their heads higher than any sky scraper and soon they were at its base, after dodging a young man who was haphazardly swinging an axe around. Flora was practically shaking as they entered Garmon mine.

The first room was empty. They saw tunnels that led to two mines, one that went up towards the top of the mountain and one that was dug far beneath it. They decided to check the one that went down first. They found Calvin within a few floors. His back was turned away from them and he was busy studying what looked like the ancient remains of a building. Flora tried to speak but choked, since she could barely breathe. Pony rolled her eyes.

"Excuse me?" Pony called to get his attention, "Are you Calvin?"

With one swift motion, Calvin turned to face them.

"Indeed I am, young miss!" Calvin smiled at Pony before he saw Flora. His eyes widened when he saw her, "Flora?"

"He remembers me!" Flora let out a squeal that only Pony could hear.

"Well, I'll be!" Calvin rushed over to the hyperventilating strawberry-blonde and gave her a great big bear hug, "Flora Fields! It really is you!"

And Flora, for her part, fainted into a limp noodle from being in direct contact with Calvin.

"And still suffering from anemia, I see," Calvin placed the unconscious Flora on the ground and began to fan her with a notebook.

Watching this all occur with raised eyebrows was the semi bemused Pony. She knew that Flora had a thing for this guy, but sheesh! She had, of course, heard the expression, "Falling for someone," but never knew anyone who took it literally before. Pony looked at Calvin. He had sandy blonde hair and was very rugged and was handsome enough, if a bit older. Nothing Pony would look twice at herself, but was apparently Flora's perfect type. Pony also noticed a distinct bit of red popping up on Calvin's cheeks as he looked down at Flora's passed out face. Maybe Flora's crush wasn't as one sided as she thought? It made Pony wonder how close Flora and Calvin were in the past, if their school infatuation lasted that long. Could they become that close again after they had time to catch up?

After a minute or so, Flora's eyes fluttered open and nearly popped out of her head when she noticed Calvin sitting next to her.

"C-c-calvin! Long time no see!" she stuttered as she quickly attempted to pull herself off the ground. Her knees were still as weak as a new born calf's, however, and she plopped right back on the ground.

"Careful there, Flora!" Calvin took her arm and pulled her to her feet.

Flora looked as content as a princess in a fairy tale.

Pony just face palmed. A loud smack echoed through the mine as her hand connected to her forehead.

"Oh, how rude of me!" Calvin faced Pony, while still holding on to Flora's arm, "I never did get your name, Miss…"

"Pony."

"Well, it's an honor to meet you Miss Pony," Calvin took off his hat and shook Pony's hand. He had to let go of Flora's hand to do this of course.

"The honor's mine, I'm sure," Pony shook back, "Although, I would prefer it if you drop the 'Miss.' I already have somebody else calling me 'Miss Pony.'"

"Alrighty then! Pony it is!" Calvin stood back so he could address both of them, "So what brings you ladies to Mount Garmon?"

"Archeology…stone…sword…"Flora babbled incoherently.

Pony raised yet another eyebrow at Flora. Apparently she was going to have to explain all of the archeology stuff instead of the actual archeologist.

"Well, Flora has been studying with Professor Carter in Forget Me Not Valley," she began, "I started helping them a few days ago. The valley has four mines and I found some odd things at the bottom of two of them," She unbuckled the sword from her belt and held it up to Calvin; "First I found this sword. It had a tablet lying next to it like a note. Let me get it," Pony walked up to the statue-like Flora and pulled the stone out of her rucksack.

"Remarkable!" Calvin held the sword up to the light of his lamp, "This is goddess ore! It would've taken a master blacksmith to forge this! And it's still sharp! This sword belonged to somebody very important."

"What does the stone say?"

Calvin handed the sword back to Pony and took the tablet from her. His eyes glided across the ancient text, his expression changing from wonder…to worry.

"It says," Calvin cleared his throat, "_Here lies the sword of the betrayer. May it and its wielder be trapped under the area called _Forget Me Not _forever, for we will NEVER forget her evil."_

"Well that's…ominous," Pony sighed.

The mystery broke Flora from her stupor.

"What could it mean?" she breathed. She picked up the sword and began to examine it again with new eyes.

"Ah ha! She joins us!" Calvin joked at Flora's sudden change of character before turning back to Pony, "Did you perchance find a body buried next to the sword?"

"No. No bones, no anything. Just bugs," Pony shrugged.

Flora and Calvin both looked at her

"Bugs?" they asked in unison.

"Oh, that's right! I completely forgot to tell you and Carter about them, Flora! I was so wrapped up with the sword!" Pony smacked her head again, "I even got pictures of them…but that annoying thief, Skye, stole the camera from me!"

"Well, I guess bugs and dirt do go hand in hand after all," Calvin scratched the back of his head, "How deep was this mine?"

"Two hundred and fifty floors."

"Two hundred and fifty floors?!" Calvin was stunned.

"That's nothing. The last mine was 65,535 floors."

"Oh dear Goddess…How do the bugs survive that far down? How did _you?!_"

"Just barely. I'm still taking painkillers from it.

"Oh my word," Calvin shook his head, "Whoever dug these mines did not want these things to be found."

"Which brings us to our other big find…" Flora dug out the pictures of the mural and handed them to Calvin, "Pony found this painted on the wall of another mine."

Calvin studied the photos for a long time. His eyes darted from corner to corner searching for every detail.

"It's certainly a star chart," he concluded. "By the placement of the consultations, I would say that this was painted nearly ten-thousand years ago. And that," he pointed to the circular blob in the corner, "Is most certainly supposed to be a map of our planet, albeit not a very accurate. And I'm guessing the other blobs are supposed to be other worlds and the lines are paths in-between them. It's interesting to note that there are six 'worlds,' just like there are six Harvest Deities. This could be a creation myth of the ancients to explain where they came from."

"That is a brilliant theory!" Flora gasped, "The professor and I never would have thought of that!"

"If it's really about the deities, then it's not a myth then," Pony crossed her arms.

Flora and Calvin shot each other a look.

"Of course," Calvin apologized, "I didn't mean to step on your beliefs."

"Whatever," Pony let her arms fall down, "So what's a mural that could be a depiction of the Harvest Deities home worlds doing in the same mine that is apparently home to 'The Betrayer?'"

"That is an excellent question and it makes me wonder if maybe the mines of other towns would hold more clues, or mysteries of their own," Calvin ran his hand across an ancient pillar, "The Garmon Mine holds the remains of the ancient temple of the Red Bell of Castanet. There is another mine in Harmonica Town called The Watery Cave that I've been meaning to check. Would you ladies care to join me?"

Flora's eyes grew large again, "You and me, doing archeology work together? Yes!" she squealed.

"Okay," Pony shrugged.

Calvin laughed, "It's settled then! We better hurry while we still have plenty of daylight!"

The trio left Garmon mine and started walking to Harmonica Town. They passed the blue haired woodman again, who was still busy swinging around his axe. They passed through Molly's farm and followed the coastline. Harmonica Town was bustling when they arrived. Pony recognized many people from her previous visit there. There were the tailors, Luna and Candace if she remember correctly, taking a walk. The red haired dancer woman was practicing at the docks. Anissa and Jin were sitting with their son on a bench. Everyone they passed gave curious stares at Pony and Flora, but they just simply waved back. They were soon inside the Watery Cave and ankle deep in water.

"It sure is…wet in here," Pony remarked.

"I hope all this water didn't erode any possible ruins!" Flora gasped.

Pony, Calvin, and Flora started going down the mine. They journeyed for several floors and didn't find a thing.

"It occurs to me that I'm spelunking even though Dr. Hardy apparently told me to never do it again," Pony said.

"Don't worry. I won't tell," Flora winked.

They made it to the bottom and the only thing of note within the whole mine was the Blue Bell on the very first floor.

"Well, that was a bust," Pony groaned.

"That happens sometimes," Calvin explained, "It's important to stay vigilant."

"So, what now?"

"It looks like we won't find any answers in Castanet. I say we broaden our search. We should go to different towns and check out their mines. It could be quite the adventure."

"Travel? With you?" Flora gasped.

Pony looked down at the ground. This wasn't exactly what she had signed up for. She thought that she and Flora were just going to find Calvin and be on their way back to Forget Me Not valley shortly after. She wanted to get back to her farm…and yet, she wanted to figure out this mystery too.

And then she got an idea. A way to kill two birds with one stone.

"If we're going to be going to other towns, how about we go to this Waffle Island place first? That way we can check their mine, if they have one, and I can see if my niece is okay!" Pony suggested.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Calvin said, "It's getting pretty late. How about we meet up at the Goddess Spring tomorrow?"

"Tra-travel…" Flora babbled.

"We'll see you tomorrow then, Calvin," Pony grabbed Flora's arm and pulled her out of the cave and towards Molly's farm, "Flora, you are hopeless," Pony shook her head.

"I know…" Flora sighed.

The walk to Molly's was uneventful. The sun set and they opened the door to find the wizard setting the table for dinner. He looked up at the sound of the door opening.

"Ah…Pony. Molly said you were…visiting. And this is…Flora, I presume?" he greeted.

"Nice to see you, brother in-law," Pony sat at the table

"It's nice to meet you," Flora smiled.

Molly walked into the room carrying a wiggling Chrystal.

"You can play later, honey. For now, Chrystal, sit in your chair.

Chrystal stopped wiggling and begrudgingly sat at the table.

The wizard took a steaming hot cheese pizza out of the oven and placed it at the center of the table. Everyone grabbed a slice, burning their fingers a little, and digged in. The pizza was delicious and every ingredient had been grown on Molly's farm. Pony took a drink of water and cleared her throat.

"So, we went and talked to Calvin," she started.

"How did it go?" Molly bit into her pizza.

"He suggested that we go to other towns and search their mines and I said that we should go to Waffle Island first."

Molly and Wizard stopped chewing

"I'm going to look for Stella while I'm there."

There was silence for a few minutes, broken occasionally by Chrystal playing with her food. Flora looked back and forth at everyone.

"What seems to be the problem?" she asked.

"I…don't know if she'll…let you cross," Wizard explained.

"Who?"

"The Harvest Goddess," Molly answered.

Flora raised an eyebrow,"Ooookay then…I won't touch this with a ten foot pole…" she went back to eating and stayed out of the conversation that she was sure was about to ensue.

"Why wouldn't Castanet's goddess let us go to Waffle Island?" Pony raised her eyebrow for a different reason, "I mean, people live there, right? They must travel back and forth between there and the mainland all the time."

"I don't know if there is a way to get there by boat," Molly traced the rim of her cup, "Finn created a magical rainbow bridge that he and Stella used to get there."

"Did the bridge disappear or something afterward?"

"No."

"Then we'll just go across that."

Molly and Wizard glanced at each other.

"It's worth trying right?" Pony shrugged.

"She…has a point," Wizard nodded.

"I guess we'll see tomorrow…" Molly whispered.

Flora wanted to change the conversation, "So Wizard, Molly say's you're an astronomer? Could you take a look at these photos and tell us what you think?" she handed him the pictures of the mural.

He took them.

"Calvin thinks the mural is ten-thousand years old according to the star patterns and that it depicts the home worlds of the Harvest Deities."

"Yes…the stars looked like this ten-thousand years ago…"

"What do you think about the rest of his theory?"

The wizard closed his eyes for a brief moment in thought. He couldn't say what he truly thought. Not in front of Molly.

"That sounds…accurate enough…" he didn't lie, but he didn't say what else he thought.

Everyone finished their dinner and soon it was bedtime.

"You can sleep in the girls' room," Molly said to Pony and Flora, "Chrystal can sleep with Wizard and me."

Everyone went to sleep, ready to see what the next day would bring.

Was Calvin's theory about the mural right? Only time would tell.


End file.
